nearly ten
years, and he had forgotten the pains and penalties which attach to the
condition. When the performance was over he darted a threatening glance
at the box, and, keeping close to Miss Jewell, looked carefully about
him to make sure that they were not followed.

"It was ripping," said the cook, as they emerged into the fresh air.

"Lovely," said the girl, in a voice of gentle melancholy. "I shall come
and see it again, perhaps, when you are at sea."

"Not alone?" said the skipper, in a startled voice.

"I don't mind being alone," said Miss Jewell, gently; "I'm used to it."

The other's reply was lost in the rush for the 'bus, and for the
second time that evening the skipper had to find fault with the seating
arrangements. And when a vacancy by the side of Miss Jewell did occur,
he was promptly forestalled by a young man in a check suit smoking a
large cigar.

They got off at Aldgate, and the girl thanked him for a pleasant
evening. A hesitating offer to see her home was at once negatived, and
the skipper, watching her and the cook until they disappeared in the
traffic, walked slowly and thoughtfully to his ship.

The brig sailed the next evening at eight o'clock, and it was not until
six that the cook remarked, in the most casual manner, that his sister
was coming down to see him off. She arrived half an hour late, and, so
far from wanting to see the cabin again, discovered an inconvenient love
of fresh air. She came down at last, at the instance of the cook, and,
once below, her mood changed, and she treated the skipper with a soft
graciousness which raised him to the seventh heaven. "You'll be good to
Bert, won't you?" she inquired, with a smile at that young man.

"I'll treat him like my own brother," said the skipper, fervently. "No,
better than that; I'll treat him like your brother."

The cook sat erect and, the skipper being occupied with Miss Jewell,
winked solemnly at the skylight.

"I know _you_ will," said the girl, very softly; "but I don't think the
men--"

"The men'll do as I wish," said the skipper, sternly. "I'm the master
on this ship--she's half mine, too--and anybody who interferes with him
interferes with me. If there's anything you don't like, Bert, you tell
me."

Mr. Jewell, his small, black eyes sparkling, promised, and then,
muttering something about his work, exchanged glances with the girl and
went up on deck.

"It is a nice cabin," said Miss Jewell, shifting an inch a