e Anchorage" alone,
as he had some important business that he wished to talk over with her.

It was a wonderful morning, all fresh sea breezes and sparkling sunshine.
Madge had not felt so gay in a long time as when the other houseboat
girls fell to guessing as to why Captain Jules desired her presence at
his house.

"He intends to make you his heiress, Madge," insisted Lillian. "Then,
when you are an old lady, you can come down here to live in the house
with the roof like three sails, and ride around in the captain's rowboat
and sailboat and be as happy as a clam."

Madge shook her head. "No such thing, Lillian. I don't believe the
captain wants me for anything important. He may be going to lecture me,
as he did yesterday afternoon. At any rate, I'll be back before long.
Please save some luncheon for me."

Madge was surprised when her boat landed near "The Anchorage" not to see
Captain Jules in his front yard, with his funny pet monkey on his
shoulder, waiting to receive her. She began to feel afraid that the
captain was ill. She had never been inside his house in all their
acquaintance. But Captain Jules had sent for her, so there was nothing
for her to do but to march up boldly to his front door and knock.

She lifted the heavy brass knocker, which looked like the head of a
dolphin, and gave three brisk blows on the closed door.

At first no one answered. The little captain was beginning to think that
the boy who came to her had made some mistake in his message and that
Captain Jules had gone out in his fishing boat for the day, when she
heard some one coming down the passage to open the door for her.

She gave a little start of surprise. A tall, middle-aged man, with a
single streak of white hair through the brown, was gazing at her
curiously.

"I would like to see Captain Jules," murmured Madge stupidly, unable to
at once recover from the surprise of finding that Captain Jules did not
live alone.

The strange man invited Madge into a tiny parlor which rather surprised
her. The room was filled with bookshelves, reaching almost up to the top
of the wall. The young girl had never dreamed that her captain was much
of a student. The only things that reminded her of Captain Jules were the
fishnets that were hung at the windows for curtains and the great sprays
of coral and sponge which decorated the mantelpiece.

The man sat down with his back to the light, so that he could look
straight into Madge's face.