s to me as if 'twas
liable to be a short v'yage and a lively one. But the for'ard lookout
says all's well and he ought to know; he's had more experience aboard
gift-shop ships, I presume likely, than I have. What's those bristly
things stickin' up along shore there--eel grass or tea grounds?"

For the first few weeks after the tea-room was really "off the ways" the
optimistic declaration of the For'ard Lookout seemed scarcely warranted
by the facts. Mary was inclined to think that all was by no means well.
In fitting out the new venture she had been as economical as she
dared, but she had been obliged to spend money and to take on a fresh
assortment of debts. Then, too, she had engaged the services of a good
cook and two waitresses, so there was a weekly expense bill to consider.
And the number of motor cars which turned in at the new driveway was
disappointingly small.

But the number grew larger. As people had talked about Hamilton and
Company's assortment of Christmas goods, so now they began to talk about
the "quaintness and delightful originality" of the For'ard Lookout. The
tea was good; the cakes and ices were good; on pleasant days the
view was remarkably fine, and the pretty things in the gift shop were
temptingly displayed. So, as May passed and June came, and the cottages
and hotels began to open, the business of the new tea-room and gift shop
grew from fair to good and from that to very good indeed.

Mary divided her time between the store and the tearoom, doing her best
to keep a supervising eye on each. She was in no mood to meet people and
kept out of the way of strangers as much as possible; even of her former
acquaintances who came to the For'ard Lookout she saw but few. If she
had not been too busy she might have found it amusing, the contrasting
studies in human nature afforded by these former acquaintances in their
attitude toward her.

For instance, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Mullet and daughter, Irene, the
latter now through school and "finished" until her veneering actually
glittered, sat drinking tea at a table on the lawn. Said Mrs. Mullet:

"And THIS is what it's come to; after all the airs and frills and the
goin' to Europe and I don't know what all. Here she is keepin' an eatin'
house. An eatin' house--just THINK of it! If that ain't a comedown!
Wouldn't you think she'd be ashamed, 'Rena?"

Miss Mullet drooped a weary eyelid and sighed a hopeless sigh.

"Oh, Mother," she drawled, in deep