hers, who were looking for shells.

"In about ten minutes Sam Twitty's port eye told him that Captain Abner
and the toll-gate woman were approaching, but in Abner there were signs
of a disposition to fall back. In an instant he had bounded between them
and was showing shells to the widow. Then, letting her go on by herself,
he turned sharply upon Abner.

"'Well,' said he, their heads close together, 'what did she say? Is she
all right?'

"Captain Abner threw a glance over the water as if his soul were
yearning for the fancied possibilities of Thompsontown. 'Oh, it's all
right enough, so far as she counts,' said he. 'I went straight at it,
and put the whole thing afore her. I told her about the house and the
two parts to it and what they was for, and she said that was charmin'.
And I told her about the king conch-shell and the gilded idol, and she
said she thought either one of them would be jes lovely, and nothin',
she thought, could be better on mantelpieces than gilded idols and king
conch-shells. And everything else was jes as slick and smooth as if she
was slidin' off the stocks. She's good-lookin' enough, Sam, but she
ain't got no mind, and I didn't fix up that house, and bother myself
year in and year out a-gettin' it all right, to take it and give it to a
woman what's got no mind. She'd be jes as well satisfied to see me
a-settin' up on the mantelpiece as if the gilded idol or the king
conch-shell was there.'

"'And she don't suit you?' asked Sam, eagerly.

"'No, sir,' replied the other; 'she don't suit.'

"'All right!' exclaimed the ever-ready Sam; 'jes you wait where you are
one minute.' In less than that time the agile Sam had rounded up Miss
Denby and had her walking along the beach by the side of Captain Abner,
and whether she thought that skilful skipper was going to show her some
rare seaweed or the state of his mind, Sam considered not for one
minute. He had brought the two together, and that was all he cared
about.

"The good Mrs. Sickles was standing alone, reflectively gazing upon the
little waves, so Sam had no trouble in carrying off the minister to a
little distance for confidential remarks.

"'I want you to tell me, sir,' said he, 'if there is any law ag'in' your
marryin' a party on the sea-shore, especially when one of them is a
sailor?'

"Mr. Rippledean laughed. 'As I am a regularly ordained minister, I can
perform a marriage anywhere,' said he, 'provided the parties are of
legal age,