lad——forheshoutedtoyonboatmantobidhimtellmehewaswell。\'TellPeggyChristison，\'sayshe（mynameisMargaretChristison）——\'tellPeggyChristisonashersonHezekiahiscomebacksafeandsound。\'TheLord\'snamebepraised！An\'meawidowasneverthoughttoseemyladagain！\'Itseemedasifeverybodyreliedoneveryoneelse\'ssympathyinthathourofgreatjoy。\'Iaxpardon，butifyou\'dgiemejustabitofelbow—roomforaminutelike，I\'dholdmybabbyup，sothathemightseedaddy\'sship，andhappen，mymastermightseehim。He\'sfourmonthsoldlastTuesdayse\'nnight，andhisfeyther\'sneverclapteyneonhimyet，andhewi\'atooththrough，ananotherjustbreaking，blesshim！\'OneortwoofthebetterendoftheMonkshaveninhabitantsstoodalittlebeforeMollyandSylvia;andastheymovedincompliancewiththeyoungmother\'srequest，theyoverheardsomeoftheinformationtheseship—ownershadreceivedfromtheboatman。\'Haynessaysthey\'llsendthemanifestofthecargoashoreintwentyminutesassoonasFishburnhaslookedoverthecasks。Onlyeightwhales，accordingtowhathesays。\'\'Noonecantell，\'saidtheother，\'tillthemanifestcomestohand。\'\'I\'mafraidhe\'sright。ButhebringsagoodreportoftheGoodFortune。
She\'soffStAbb\'sHead，withsomethinglikefifteenwhalestohershare。\'\'Weshallseehowmuchistrue，whenshecomesin。\'\'That\'llbebytheafternoon—tideto—morrow。\'\'That\'smycousin\'sship，\'saidMollytoSylvia。\'He\'sspeck—sioneeronboardtheGoodFortune。\'Anoldmantouchedherasshespoke——\'Ihumblymakemymanners，missus，butI\'mstoneblind;mylad\'saboardyonvesseloutsidet\'bar;andmyoldwomanisbed—fast。Willshebelong，thinkye，inmakingt\'harbour？Because，ifsobeasshewere，I\'djustmakemywayback，andspeakawordortwotomymissus，who\'llbeboilingo\'erintosomemako\'mischiefnowsheknowshe\'ssonear。MayIbesoboldastoaxift\'CrookedNegroiscoveredyet？\'Mollystoodontip—toetotryandseetheblackstonethusnamed;butSylvia，stoopingandpeepingthroughtheglimpsesaffordedbetweenthearmsofthemovingpeople，sawitfirst，andtoldtheblindoldmanitwasstillabovewater。\'Awatchedpot，\'saidhe，\'ne\'erboils，Ireckon。It\'sta\'enavasto\'
wattert\'coverthatstoneto—day。Anyhow，I\'llhavetimetogohomeandratemymissusforworritin\'hersen，asI\'llbeboundshe\'sdone，forallasIbadehernot，buttokeepeasyandcontent。\'\'We\'dbetterbeofftoo，\'saidMolly，asanopeningwasmadethroughthepresstoletoutthegropingoldman。\'Eggsandbutterisyettosell，andtha\'cloaktobebought。\'\'Well，Isupposewehad！\'saidSylvia，ratherregretfully;for，thoughallthewayintoMonkshavenherheadhadbeenfullofthepurchaseofthiscloak，yetshewasofthatimpressiblenaturethattakesthetoneoffeelingfromthosesurrounding;andthoughsheknewnooneonboardtheResolution，shewasjustasanxiousforthemomenttoseehercomeintoharbourasanyoneinthecrowdwhohadadearrelationonboard。SosheturnedreluctantlytofollowthemoreprudentMollyalongthequaybacktotheButterCross。Itwasaprettyscene，thoughitwastoofamiliartotheeyesofallwhothensawitforthemtonoticeitsbeauty。Thesunwaslowenoughinthewesttoturnthemistthatfilledthedistantvalleyoftheriverintogoldenhaze。Above，oneitherbankoftheDee，therelaythemoorlandheightsswellingonebehindtheother;thenearer，russetbrownwiththetintsofthefadingbracken;themoredistant，grayanddimagainsttherichautumnalsky。Theredandflutedtilesofthegabledhousesroseincrowdedirregularityononesideoftheriver，whilethenewersuburbwasbuiltinmoreorderlyandlesspicturesquefashionontheoppositecliff。Theriveritselfwasswellingandchafingwiththeincomingtidetillitsvexedwatersrushedovertheveryfeetofthewatchingcrowdonthestaithes，asthegreatseawavesencroachedmoreandmoreeveryminute。Thequay—sidewasunsavourilyornamentedwithglitteringfish—scales，forthehaulsoffishwerecleansedintheopenair，andnosanitaryarrangementsexistedforsweepingawayanyoftherelicsofthisoperation。Thefreshsaltbreezewasbringingupthelashing，leapingtidefromtheblueseabeyondthebar。Behindthereturninggirlsthererockedthewhite—sailedship，asifshewereallalivewitheagernessforheranchorstobeheaved。Howimpatienthercrewofbeatingheartswereforthatmoment，howthoseonlandsickenedatthesuspense，maybeimagined，whenyourememberthatforsixlongsummermonthsthosesailorshadbeenasifdeadfromallnewsofthosetheyloved;shutupinterrible，drearyArcticseasfromthehungrysightofsweetheartsandfriends，wivesandmothers。Nooneknewwhatmighthavehappened。Thecrowdonshoregrewsilentandsolemnbeforethedreadofthepossiblenewsofdeaththatmighttollinupontheirheartswiththisuprushingtide。ThewhalerswentoutintotheGreenlandseasfullofstrong，hopefulmen;butthewhalersneverreturnedastheysailedforth。
Onlandtherearedeathsamongtwoorthreehundredmentobemournedoverineveryhalf—year\'sspaceoftime。Whoseboneshadbeenlefttoblackenonthegrayandterribleicebergs？Wholaystilluntiltheseashouldgiveupitsdead？whowerethosewhoshouldcomebacktoMonkshavennever，no，nevermore？Manyaheartswelledwithpassionate，unspokenfear，asthefirstwhalerlayoffthebaronherreturnvoyage。MollyandSylviahadleftthecrowdinthishushedsuspense。Butfiftyyardsalongthestaithetheypassedfiveorsixgirlswithflushedfacesandcarelessattire，whohadmountedapileoftimber，placedtheretoseasonforship—building，fromwhichasfromthestepsofaladderorstaircase，theycouldcommandtheharbour。Theywerewildandfreeintheirgestures，andheldeachotherbythehand，andswayedfromsidetoside，stampingtheirfeetintime，astheysang——Weelmaythekeelrow，thekeelrow，thekeelrow，Weelmaythekeelrowthatmyladdie\'sin！\'Whatforareyegoingoff，now？\'theycalledouttoourtwogirls。\'She\'llbeinintenminutes！\'andwithoutwaitingfortheanswerwhichnevercame，theyresumedtheirsong。Oldsailorsstoodaboutinlittlegroups，tooproudtoshowtheirinterestintheadventurestheycouldnolongershare，butquiteunabletokeepupanysemblanceoftalkonindifferentsubjects。ThetownseemedveryquietanddesertedasMollyandSylviaenteredthedark，irregularBridgeStreet，andthemarket—placewasasemptyofpeopleasbefore。Buttheskepsandbasketsandthree—leggedstoolswereallclearedaway。\'Market\'soverforto—day，\'saidMollyCorney，indisappointedsurprise。
\'Wemunmakethebeston\'t，andselltot\'huxters，andahardbargainthey\'llbefordriving。Idoubtmother\'llbevexed。\'SheandSylviawenttothecornershoptoreclaimtheirbaskets。Themanhadhisjokeatthemfortheirdelay。\'Ay，ay！lassesashassweetheartsa—cominghomedon\'tcaremuchwhatpricetheygetforbutterandeggs！Idaresay，now，there\'ssomeuninyonshipthat\'udgiveasmuchasashillingapoundforthisbutterifheonlyknowedwhochurnedit！\'ThiswastoSylvia，ashehandedherbackherproperty。Thefancy—freeSylviareddened，pouted，tossedbackherhead，andhardlydeignedafarewellwordofthanksorcivilitytothelameman;shewasatanagetobeaffrontedbyanyjokesonsuchasubject。Mollytookthejokewithoutdisclaimerandwithoutoffence。Sheratherlikedtheunfoundedideaofherhavingasweetheart，andwasrathersurprisedtothinkhowdevoidoffoundationthenotionwas。IfshecouldhaveanewcloakasSylviawasgoingtohave，then，indeed，theremightbeachance！Untilsomesuchgoodluck，itwasaswelltolaughandblushasifthesurmiseofherhavingaloverwasnotveryfarfromthetruth，andsosherepliedinsomethingofthesamestrainasthelamenet—makertohisjokeaboutthebutter。\'He\'llneeditall，andmoretoo，togreasehistongue，ifiverhereckonstowinmeforhiswife！\'Whentheywereoutoftheshop，Sylviasaid，inacoaxingtone，——\'Molly，whoisit？Whosetongue\'llneedgreasing？Justtellme，andI\'llnevertell！\'ShewassomuchinearnestthatMollywasperplexed。Shedidnotquitelikesayingthatshehadalludedtonooneinparticular，onlytoapossiblesweetheart，soshebegantothinkwhatyoungmanhadmadethemostcivilspeechestoherinherlife;thelistwasnotalongonetogoover，forherfatherwasnotsowelloffastomakehersoughtafterforhermoney，andherfacewasratherofthehomeliest。Butshesuddenlyrememberedhercousin，thespecksioneer，whohadgivenhertwolargeshells，andtakenakissfromherhalf—willinglipsbeforehewenttoseathelasttime。