e island,
must have come in her. She wanted to make sure that Michael Kane was on
board.

"I suppose now," she said, "that it was Michael Kane told you that. And
it's likely old Andrew that he said I was marrying."

"He said you were going to marry the King of the island," said Miss
Clarence.

"Well," said Mary Nally, "that would be old Andrew."

"But isn't it true?" said Miss Clarence.

A horrible suspicion seized her. Michael Kane might have been making a
fool of her.

"Michael Kane would tell you lies as quick as look at you," she said;
"but maybe it wasn't lies he was telling this time. Come along now and
we'll see."

She lifted the flap of the counter behind which she sat and passed into
the outer part of the shop. She took Miss Clarence by the arm and they
went together through the door. Miss Clarence expected to be led down to
the pier. It seemed to her plain that Mary Nally must want to find out
from Michael whether he had told this outrageous story or not. She was
quite willing to face the old boatman. Mary Nally would have something
bitter to say to him. She herself would say something rather more bitter
and would say it more fiercely.

Mary turned to the right and walked towards the yellow house with the
slate roof. She entered it, pulling Miss Clarence after her.

An oldish man, very fat, but healthy looking and strong, sat in an
armchair near the window of the room they entered. Round the walls were
barrels of porter. On the shelves were bottles of whisky. In the middle
of the floor, piled one on top of the other, were three cases full of
soda-water bottles.

"Andrew," said Mary Nally, "there's a young lady here says that you and
me is going to be married."

"I've been saying as much myself this five years," said Andrew. "Ever
since your mother died. And I don't know how it is we never done it."

"It might be," said Mary, "because you never asked me."

"Sure, where was the use of my asking you," said Andrew, "when you knew
as well as myself and everyone else that it was to be?"

"Anyway," said Mary, "the young lady says we're doing it, and, what's
more, we're doing it to-day. What have you to say to that now, Andrew?"

Andrew chuckled in a good-humoured and tolerant way.

"What I'd say to that, Mary," he said, "is that it would be a pity to
disappoint the young lady if her heart's set on it."

"It's not my heart that's set on it," said Miss Clarence indignantly. "I
don't care if you ne