came forth on
her path, and stood within a few yards in front of her. She was startled
for an instant, because the place was lonely, and Captain Stubbard's
battery crew had established their power to repulse the French by
pounding their fellow-countrymen. But presently she saw that it was Dan
Tugwell, looking as unlike himself as any man can do (without the aid of
an artist), and with some surprise she went on to meet him.

Instead of looking bright, and bold, and fearless, with the freedom of
the sea in his open face, and that of the sun in his clustering curls,
young Daniel appeared careworn and battered, not only unlike his proper
self, but afraid of and ashamed of it. He stood not firmly on the
ground, nor lightly poised like a gallant sailor, but loosely and
clumsily like a ploughman who leaves off at the end of his furrow to
ease the cramp. His hat looked as if he had slept in it, and his eyes as
if he had not slept with them.

Miss Darling had always been fond of Dan, from the days when they played
on the beach together, in childhood's contempt of social law. Her old
nurse used to shut her eyes, after looking round to make sure that there
was "nobody coming to tell on them," while as pretty a pair of children
as the benevolent sea ever prattled with were making mirth and music
and romance along its margin. And though in ripe boyhood the unfaithful
Daniel transferred the hot part of his homage to the more coquettish
Dolly, Faith had not made any grievance of that, but rather thought all
the more of him, especially when he saved her sister's life in a very
rash boating adventure.

So now she went up to him with a friendly mind, and asked him softly and
pitifully what trouble had fallen upon him. At the sweet sound of her
voice, and the bright encouragement of her eyes, he felt as if he was
getting better.

"If you please, miss," he said, with a meek salutation, which proved his
panisic ideas to be not properly wrought into his system as yet--"if you
please, miss, things are very hard upon me."

"Is it money?" she asked, with the true British instinct that all common
woes have their origin there; "if it is, I shall be so glad that I
happen to have a good bit put by just now."

But Dan shook his head with such dignified sadness that Faith was quite
afraid of having hurt his feelings. "Oh, I might have known," she said,
"that it was nothing of that kind. You are always so industrious and
steady. But what can i