"Very much alive. We take him everywhere." "That so? Wish you'd give him to me." "I will." "Golly! Will you?" The boy jumped on one foot, and then on the other. "I'll go back with you after him. But mebby you'll bring him?" "No. You may take him." Leander screwed up one eye and contemplated Lawrence on the rock before him. "I will. Say, you married Prue, didn't you?" "Yes." "So I thought, near's I could tell. Folks been awful mum 'bout the whole thing. I s'pose 'twas kind of odd, wa'n't it?" "Perhaps." "Yes, I guess 'twas," was the response, "'cause I asked Caro one day if 'twas odd. She said 'twasn't odd, 'twas natural; but I didn't believe her, all the same. Been sick much?" "I'm not sick." "You don't look right, somehow. Let's go down to the house. Folks'll be awful glad to see you. Come on." "I don't think I'll go now." "Why not? I say, ain't it funny that the Britisher's there again this summer?" "Is he?" "Yes. Comes a lot. Sparkin' sis, I s'pose. Sparkin' Prue last summer, you know,--wife takin' sulphur somewhere. Wife dead now. I say, is Prue's much of a brick's ever." "I think so." "It must be awfully jolly, then, to have her around all the time, same's you have folks when you're married to 'em. I wanted Prue to wait for me, 'n' marry me. She said she would; but you see she didn't." "Yes, so I see; but if I should happen not to live you might have a chance still." Leander eyed the speaker for some seconds in silence before he said, "You wa'n't drowned when the _Vireo_ went to pieces?" "Apparently not." "Yes, it does seem so. Did she go on a rock?" "No; run into." "And what became of you 'n' Prue?" "Picked up." "So you thought you'd get married?" "Yes." "Well, the folks felt awful when they thought you were all dead; 'n' so did I. Afterward I overheard marmer say she didn't think it possible you could be such a scamp. I s'pose she meant as not to be drowned. Funny, though, wasn't it?" "Very." "They were goin' to put on black, but Caro wouldn't; she said you wa'n't drowned. I say, how do you lug the crow round?" "We have a big cage and have it in the baggage-car." Leander contemplated this fact in silence for a time. It was plain that some things puzzled him. Then he took out his watch, evidently something new, for he had already looked at it twice in this interview. "I guess it's about time she was here," he remarked. "Who?" asked Lawrence, quickly. "Why, Caro, of course. I was going to show her how my new fish-pole works. It's down below there. Oh, there she is now." Lawrence sprang to his feet. He was too late. Carolyn stepped up on to the rock where the two stood.