“On the way back we stop here for lunch,” said the driver, as they entered the town of Chester. “Perhaps you could get some fisherman to take you out.”
“What do you expect to do there, Mart?” laughed Jeanette. “Find some of the treasure?”
“I might. Who knows? And wouldn’t I have the laugh on you if I did!”
“Look,” said Miss Ashton, as they stopped in front of the inn for a moment and the driver went in to give notice of the number of guests he would have stopping there for lunch, “that woman is doing her marketing with a pail instead of a basket.”
Sure enough a tall, thin woman, primly dressed in an old-fashioned looking garment of dull calico, was going from one store to another, and piling meat, groceries, fruit, and notions into a large tin pail which hung on her arm.
On the way to Bridgewater they ran in and out of fog constantly. Sometimes the air would be perfectly clear, and the sun shining brightly. Then suddenly the fog would shut down so heavily that they could hardly see to the edge of the beach.
“Isn’t this queer?” said Martha. “At home either we have fog or we don’t.”
“That’s the way it is here, too,” replied the driver, smiling over his shoulder at Nancy; and Martha could not understand why they all laughed. Then he went on to explain that it was because they changed “levels” so constantly, that they “had the fog” or “didn’t have it” in such rapid succession.
“This is Lunenburg,” he explained presently, as they ascended a hill into a small, prosperous-looking town. “It is famous for the building of deep-sea fishing vessels. Out there,” pointing to the expanse of water below them, “is the Lunenburg Harbor. There are some boats ready for use; some ready for the masts; and on the shore are others just begun. Notice that the prows are all painted blue; for they are known as ‘Bluenose Boats.’”
“I have heard that term so many times since we landed,” said Miss Ashton, “and I never heard it before. For example, the train we came on yesterday is called the ‘Bluenose Special.’ What is the origin, and significance?”