"I can carry them," spoke up Gwen.
The captain turned his twinkling blue eyes upon her, and gave a quick sideway jerk of his head. "Ain't going to le' ye. Women-folks has petticoats to manage."
"Cap'n Ben, this is my niece, Gwendolin Whitredge," said Miss Elliott hastening to give the introduction which had been wanting before.
"That's what I cal'lated she was," came the reply. "Didn't guess you'd changed your mind and brought another gal along. Wal, Miss Elliott, your cawtage is gettin' on. They've begun to shingle. Guess you're glad of that."
"I am indeed. Will it be ready for us in time, do you think, Cap'n Ben?"
"Don't take long to run 'em up, and when they git her roofed in the weather don't make much difference. Pretty warm down your way?" He turned with a smile to Gwen.
"It's beginning to be," she answered, smiling back and thinking, "we shall be good friends, this old man and I. Ah, there is the ocean!" she exclaimed as they took the rise of the hill. "I was beginning to be disappointed, Aunt Cam."
"It does beat all how you city folks always want to get close to the water," said Cap'n Ben. "I like to keep as far away from all that bellerin' as I can, but here you go climbing over rawks, spending your time watching waves, dragging in all sorts of stuff and sticking it up in your houses. Why, last year somebody actually wanted one of my old fish nets to hang up inside. Looked crazy enough when she got it there, too, but I let her have it. I cal'lated it pleased her and didn't hurt me."
Gwen laughed. "I can fancy it was very artistic," she said.
"Artistic! That's what you call it. Wal, I dunno. There was a man up here last summer settin' round on the rawks making dauby looking things I wouldn't give a nickel for, but he called 'em pictures, and somebody said he got as much as a hundred dollars for one. That stumped me. All the fools ain't dead yet, thinks I."