I sent one of the copies to the
Governor himself. 'Twill amuse him hugely.'

Presently my mother and my two sisters joined the group on the verandah,
and as they were all talking and laughing together, Ruth Kenna came to
my mother and said that her father had just come with a basket of fresh
fish and would like to see her for a minute. I, being the youngest boy
of the family, and over-fond--so my brothers said--of hanging on
to mammy's apron-strings, as well as being anxious to see the fish,
followed her out on to the back verandah, where black-browed, dark-faced
Patrick Kenna awaited her.

''Tis a fine dark night coming on, ma'am,' he said in a low voice. 'The
wind is north-east and 'twill hould well till daylight. Then 'twill come
away from the south-east, sure enough. They should be there long before
midnight and out of sight of land before the dawn.'

'Yes, yes, Patrick,' said my mother, hurriedly. 'I shall pray to-night
to God for those in peril on the sea; and to forgive us for any wrong we
may have done in this matter.'

'No harm can iver come to any wan in this house,' said the man,
earnestly, raising her hand to his lips, 'for the blessin' av God an'
the Holy Virgin is upon it.'

My mother pressed his hand. 'Good-bye, Patrick. I do hope all may go
well;' and with this she went away.

Kenna raised his hat and turned to go, when Walter Trenfield came to the
foot of the verandah steps and stopped him.

'Let me come with you,' he said, 'and bid Tom good-bye.'

'No,' answered Kenna, roughly, 'neither you nor I nor any wan else must
go near Nobby's to-night; matthers are goin' well enough, an' no folly
of yours shall bring desthruction upon them. As it is, the constables
suspect me, and are now watching my house.'

Then, mounting his horse again, he rode leisurely away over the brow of
the hill towards the scrub, through which his road lay.

Both Walter and Ruth knew that unless the night was very clear there was
no chance of even the lookout man on the pilot station seeing a small
boat passing along to the southward; but nevertheless they went up to
the pilot station about ten o'clock, when they thought that Tom May
and his companions would be passing Bar Harbour on their way to Little
Nobby's. They stayed on the headland for nearly an hour, talking to Tom
King and the look-out man, and then came home, feeling satisfied that
if the three men had succeeded in launching the boat safely, they had
passed Ba