ed in return, but it was in a grim sort of a way.

"My heart was softer once than it is now. There were better days then,
and never did I think that I'd come to be a wrecker on Sable Island,"
said he; and the remembrance of those better days evidently gave him
saddening thoughts, for he relapsed into the moody silence that was his
wont. It continued so long that Eric began to feel uncomfortable, and
was about to move away a little, in order to have a frolic with Prince,
when Ben roused himself, and motioned him to draw near him.

"Sit ye down in front of me, my lad," said he, "and listen to me a bit,
and I'll tell you why I couldn't find it in my heart to let any harm
come to you. I had a boy of my own once, as trim a lad as ever sat in
a boat; and many a fine trip we made together, for I was at an honest
trade then, and wasn't ashamed to take my boy into it. Ah, lad! those
were the good times. We went fishing on the Banks, getting our outfit
at Halifax, and selling our fare there. But our home was at Chester,
where I had a snug cottage, all my own, without a shilling of debt on
it, and pretty well fitted up too. The wife--she was the best wife
that ever I knew--she looked after the cottage, and we looked after the
little schooner; and after each trip we'd stay at home awhile and have
a little time together.

"We were mostly always in luck on the Banks, and it was not often the
_Sea-Slipper_ missed a good fare, if there were any fish to be caught.
And so it went on, until I lost my lad. He and his mate were out in
their dory fishing, and the cod were plentiful, and they were so full
of catching them that they did not notice the fog coming up and
creeping all around them. They lost their bearings, and no man ever
set eyes on them again.

"I didn't give up hoping I'd find them for months afterwards. I
cruised about the Banks, I called at all the ports that sent out
Bankers, and I tried at Halifax, Boston, New York, and other big
places, hoping that some ship might have picked them up. But not a
word did I hear. There was a heavy blow right after the fog, and no
doubt they were lost in that. I lost a lot of time hunting for my boy,
and it seemed as though when he went my luck followed him. Everything
went wrong. The fish would hardly touch my hooks, and I never got a
full fare. Then the wife died. She never held up her head after the
day I came home without our boy. I took to the drink. It didn't make