The Pilot and his Wife

arkness had set in, and it had soon become evident that it was no longer pleasure-sailing for a boat with ladies in it. They had determined, therefore, rather than go about for

ocking at the door, and he saw by the light from the hearth no less than six grand folk come streaming i

over the fire, and perhaps her suddenly awakened excitement lent a more than usual animation and attraction to a pair of eyes and a face that would nowhere have passed unnoticed; for Carl Beck, who was at the

lder. "I'm afraid we shall be very troublesome to you, such a large party; but we want you to let us stay here till morning, till we see if the weather moderates a bit.

l with womankind too,

e from his seat and made room at the fire, begging that they would put up with what acco

arl Beck was outside with the boatmen, seeing about having the provisions brought up. He cam

iends the Swedes have it. Bu

of topic; and then came the "bowl," a composition of various strong and spicy ingredients, of which Carl h

r's jacket with its anchor-buttons thrown open, and sang first one and then another of the rollicking drinking-songs that were then in vogue, t

im, and would even put in a word now and then. But every attempt to make him tell a story himself failed. Only when the

slands-although none here, while he was alive, knew his name. It was said he soon after made an end of himself through remorse, like Judas Iscariot. However that may be, at the mouth of the channel there is a flat sunk rock that a man in his sea-boots

him yourself, Jaco

ow that the last time I was off those islands, we had such tremendou

recital had suggested, and there was a solemn pause, which was

wind and a f

for ev

f gold a dea

stern i

ay sail the

he girls will

oys, for the on

, never, you'l

the background, awake enough for both of them. The light from the fire fell upon his handsome brown face, with the raven black curly hair, and the dark eyes that it was said he had inherited from h

s they sailed. It was long, though, before Elizabeth could get out of her thoughts the handsome young officer who had sat there by the fire. And ma

boys, for the o

, never, you'l

preference, alone in his sailing-boat. But, whether it was an instinct or not on her side, it happe