“No, I shall not. At least, not until you go back and change your clothes.”
“To hear is to obey. 'I go, but I return,' as the fellow in the play observes. I'll be back in just fifteen minutes.”
He was back in twelve, and, as to make the long detour about the marshes would, he felt then, be a wicked waste of time and the marshes themselves were covered with puddles left by the tide, his “dry things” were far from dry when he arrived. But she did not notice, and he was too happy to care, so it was all right. They got breakfast together, and if the coffee had boiled too long and the eggs not long enough, that was all right, also.
They sat at opposite sides of the little table, and he needed frequent reminding that eating was supposed to be the business on hand. They talked of his father and of Ann Davidson—whom Ruth declared was to be pitied—of the wonderful coincidence that that particular paper, the one containing the “Personal” and the “Engagement in High Life” item, should have been on top of the pile in the boathouse, and—of other things. Occasionally the talk lapsed, and the substitute assistant merely looked, looked and smiled vacuously. When this happened Miss Graham smiled, also, and blushed. Neither of them thought of looking out of the window.
If they had not been so preoccupied, if they had looked out of that window, they would have seen a horse and buggy approaching over the dunes. Seth and Mrs. Bascom were on the buggy seat, and the lightkeeper was driving with one hand. The equipage had been hired at the Eastboro livery stable. Joshua was undergoing repairs and enjoying a much-needed rest at the blacksmith shop in the village.
As they drew near the lights, Seth sighed contentedly.
“Well, Emeline,” he observed, “here we be, safe and sound. Home again! Yes, sir, by jiminy crimps, HOME! And you ain't goin' to Boston to-day, neither.”
Mrs. Bascom, the practical, moved toward the edge of the seat.
“Take your arm away, Seth,” she cautioned. “They'll see you.”
“Who'll see me? What do I care who sees me? Ain't a man got a right to put his arm around his own wife, I'd like to know?”