"She'd have none o' that! 'Oh no,' says she; 'he jus' needs—me.'
"'A poor stick for looks,' says I.
"'Ah, but,' says she, 'you didn't know un when he was young, Toby.'
"'Pst!' says I. 'An' he've kep' you waitin' a long time.'
"'It haven't been hard t' wait,' says she; 'for I jus' knowed he'd come—when ready.'
"'I'll fetch Skipper Davy this night.'
"'Ay,' says she. 'I'm—wonderful happy.'
"'There'll be guns goin' at a weddin' in Rickity Tickle afore long,' says I, 'I'll be bound!'
"She laughed like a maid o' sixteen. 'An', ecod!' says she, 'I got a new muslin all ready t' wear!'
"It rained on Rickity Tickle that night: no lusty downpour—a mean, sad drizzle o' cold mist. The road t' Gull Island Cove was dark as death—sodden underfoot an' clammy with wet alder-leaves. Skipper Davy come with fair courage, laggin' a bit by the way, in the way o' lovers, thinks I, at such times. An' I'd my hand fair on the knob o' Mary Land's door—an' was jus' about t' push in—when Skipper Davy all at once cotched me by the elbow an' pulled me back t' the shadows.