“I don’t see that it matters,” said the captain; “it doesn’t hurt me. Nugent goes his way and I go mine, but if I ever get a chance at the old man, he’d better look out. He wants a little of the starch taken out of him.” “Mere mannerism,” said his son. “He’s as proud as Lucifer, and his girl takes after him,” said the innocent captain. “By the way, she’s grown up a very good-looking girl. You take a look at her the next time you see her.” [Illustration: “The most astounding and gratifying instance of the wonders effected by time was that of Miss Nugent.”] His son stared at him. “She’ll get married soon, I should think,” continued the other. “Young Murchison, the new doctor here, seems to be the favourite. Nugent is backing him, so they say; I wish him joy of his father-in-law.” Jem Hardy took his pipe into the garden, and, pacing slowly up and down the narrow paths, determined, at any costs, to save Dr. Murchison from such a father-in-law and Kate Nugent from any husband except of his choosing. He took a seat under an old apple tree, and, musing in the twilight, tried in vain to think of ways and means of making her acquaintance. Meantime they passed each other as strangers, and the difficulty of approaching her only made the task more alluring. In the second week he reckoned up that he had seen her nine times. It was a satisfactory total, but at the same time he could not shut his eyes to the fact that five times out of that number he had seen Dr. Murchison as well, and neither of them appeared to have seen him. He sat thinking it over in the office one hot afternoon. Mr. Adolphus Swann, his partner, had just returned from lunch, and for about the fifth time that day was arranging his white hair and short, neatly pointed beard in a small looking-glass. Over the top of it he glanced at Hardy, who, leaning back in his chair, bit his pen and stared hard at a paper before him. “Is that the manifest of the _North Star_?” he inquired. “No,” was the reply. Mr. Swann put his looking-glass away and watched the other as he crossed over to the window and gazed through the small, dirty panes at the bustling life of the harbour below. For a short time Hardy stood gazing in silence, and then, suddenly crossing the room, took his hat from a peg and went out. “Restless,” said the senior partner, wiping his folders with great care and putting them on. “Wonder where he’s put that manifest.” He went over to the other’s desk and opened a drawer to search for it. Just inside was a sheet of foolscap, and Mr. Swann with growing astonishment slowly mastered the contents. “See her as often as possible.” “Get to know some of her friends.” “Try and get hold of the old lady.” “Find out her tastes and ideas.” “Show my hand before Murchison has it all his own way.” “It seems to me,” said the bewildered shipbroker, carefully replacing the paper, “that my young friend is looking out for another partner. He hasn’t lost much time.”