no friend of mine."

"Isn't he? Well, he's no particular friend of mine, either. But a
friend of mine--of both of us, Joe here, too--is with Dave--Maurice
Blake. Any word of him?"

"Oh, yes. A good-looking fellow, nice eyes and hair and nice manners.
I do like to see refined manners in people. Now if it was him----"

"If it was him, you wouldn't have told him to go to sea and the devil
take him----"

"I'd have you know, Captain Clancy, I don't swear."

"Swear? You, Miss Luce? Dear me, whatever made you think I thought
that? But let's have another taste of wine. But of course you didn't
encourage Dave to stay ashore here?"

"Him?--I guess not. When he said he didn't care if he never came back,
I told him I was sure I didn't--and out he went."

"O woman, gentle woman," murmured Clancy in his glass, "especially
real ladies. But Dave never did know how to talk to a lady."

"I should say he didn't."

"No, not Dave. And so his money gone he's----"

"Money? Why, he never had any money."

"Well, that's bad. Not even enough to open a bottle of wine to drink a
lady's health?"

"Bottle of wine? No, nor a thimbleful of tuppenny ale."

"That was bad, Miss Luce. Dave ought've come better heeled----

'And so his money gone he puts out to sea--
It may happen to you or happen to me.'

And which way did he say he was going?"

"He didn't say and I didn't ask, though one of the men with him said
something about going to the Grand Banks."

"Grand Banks, eh? That's comforting--it isn't more than a couple of
days' sail from here to the nearest edge of it, and twenty-odd
thousand or more square miles of shoal water to hunt over after you
get there. Had they taken their bait aboard, did you hear, Miss
Luce?"

"Yes, they had. That was yesterday afternoon late. His vessel was
leaking then, I heard him say to that nice-looking man--Maurice Blake
his name, did you say? A nice name Maurice, isn't it? Well, he said to
Maurice going out the door, 'Well, we'll put out and I callate--I
don't know how she'll get out but out we'll go to-night.' 'The sooner
you go the better it will suit me,' Blake said, and they went off
together."

"And how was Mr. Blake?"

"How do you mean? How did he act? My, I never saw such a man. Wouldn't
open his head all night--wouldn't drink, but just sat and smoked like
your friend there. Anything the matter with him?"

"With Maurice? Oh, in the way of aneurisms? Not that I know of. Oh,
yes