, leaning her head against his shoulder,
voluntarily renewed her vows of seclusion.

She went down to the harbour next day to see him off, and stood watching
with much interest the bustle on deck and the prominent share borne by
her masterful admirer. To her thinking, Captain Trimblett, stiff
and sturdy on the bridge, played but a secondary part. She sent the
boatswain little signals of approval and regard, a proceeding which
was the cause of much subsequent trouble to a newly joined A.B. who
misunderstood their destination. The warps were thrown off, a bell
clanged in the engine-room, the screw revolved, and a gradually widening
piece of water appeared between the steamer and the quay. Men on board
suspended work for a moment for a last gaze ashore, and no fewer
than six unfortunates responded ardently to the fluttering of her
handkerchief. She stood watching until the steamer had disappeared round
a bend in the river, and then, with a sense of desolation and a holiday
feeling for which there was no outlet, walked slowly home.

She broke her promise to the boatswain the following evening. For one
thing, it was her "evening out," and for another she felt that the
sooner the Bassett nuisance was stopped, the better it would be for
all concerned. If the youth failed to see her she was the gainer to the
extent of an evening in the open air, and if he did not she had an idea
that the emergency would not find her unprepared.

She walked down to the town first and spent some time in front of the
shop-windows. Tiring of this, she proceeded to the harbour and inspected
the shipping, and then with the feeling strong upon her that it would be
better to settle with Bassett at her own convenience, she walked slowly
to the small street in which he lived, and taking up a position nearly
opposite his house paced slowly to and fro with the air of one keeping
an appointment. She was pleased to observe, after a time, a slight
movement of the curtains opposite, and, satisfied that she had attained
her ends, walked off. The sound of a street door closing saved her the
necessity of looking round.

At first she strolled slowly through the streets, but presently,
increasing her pace, resolved to take the lad for a country walk.
At Tranquil Vale she paused to tie up her boot-lace, and, satisfying
herself that Bassett was still in pursuit, set off again.

She went on a couple of miles farther, until turning the sharp corner of
a lane she t