"Clancy," I answered, "thought what we all thought, I guess--that she's a fast vessel any way you take her, but he won't say she's the fastest vessel out of Gloucester, even after she's put in trim and loosened up. But in a sea-going way and with wind enough--with wind enough, mind--he thinks she'll do pretty well." "With wind enough and in a sea-way?" repeated Nell. "Then I hope that when the fishermen's race is sailed next fall it's a howling gale and seas clear to your mast-head. Yes, and you needn't laugh--don't you know what it means to Will?" And I did realize. Somers, a fine fellow, was just then beginning to get a chance at designing fishermen. So far he had done pretty well, but it was on the Johnnie Duncan, I knew, he had pinned his faith. For his own sake, I hoped that the Johnnie would do great things, but for Nell's sake I prayed she would. Nell thought a lot of Will and wasn't ashamed to show her liking, and thinking of that set me to thinking of other things. "Was Miss Foster to the ball?" I asked her. "She was," said Nell. "And with whom?" "Mr. Withrow." "Oh-h, Lord!" "Oh-h!--and why Oh-h-h?" "I wish she'd gone with Maurice." "H-m--that was drunk the other day?" "Yes, I suppose that queers him forever. And the other fellow does ten times as bad, only under cover. Who told you?" "Never mind. Wasn't he?" "Was Maurice to the ball?" "He was." "And who with?" "With nobody." "Good. Was Mrs. Miner there?" "Mrs. Miner?"--and such a sniff!--"yes, she was there." "With Sam Hollis?" "Yes, and flirted with half the men in the hall and with your Maurice Blake outrageously." "That so? Could Maurice help that much? But I wish, just the same, that Miss Foster had gone with Maurice." "Well, there was one very good reason." "What?" "He didn't ask her. And Mr. Withrow made a handsome cavalier anyway." "A handsome"--I was going to say lobster, but I didn't. Instead I told her why Maurice didn't ask Miss Foster--that he didn't think enough of himself, probably. And that led up to a talk about Maurice Blake and Clancy. Before I got through I had Nell won over. Indeed, I think she was won over before I began at all. "There's a whole lot you don't know yet," she said at last. "Get Captain Blake to make a name for himself seining, and for sailing his vessel as she ought to be sailed, and I'll get down on my knees to Alice for him--sail her as she ought to be sailed, remember. And make a good stock with her, and you'll see."