"Why, of course, miss. I went and told him the very first thing--'twas only right, him being such a friend--your only friend here, as one may say." "Oh, no, Sam, we have you." "Me!"--with scornful humility--"I'm nothing. Yes, of course I went and told him. And he wouldn't let us get no lodgings; he said you was just to go and stay wi' Mrs. Harris and him. He would ha' wrote to tell yer, but there worn't time." "And much more comfortable you'll be than at them lodging places," put in Mrs. Dunn. "There's nothing empty now that's at all fit for you. The season is just a-coming on, you see, and we're like to be pretty full this year." "But we wanted to be away from the town, Mrs. Dunn." "And so you will be away from the town. Why, bless me, you can't be much farther away--to be anywhere at all--than up there," pointing to the headland where their old home was dimly visible in the November sunshine. "There's only Mrs. Harris and the gal, and _they_ won't interfere with you." "Up _there!_" exclaimed the sisters in a breath. And Mr. and Mrs. Dunn looked with broad grins at one another. "Well, I'm blowed!" exclaimed the fisherman. "You don't mean as Master Paul never let on about his pa and him buying the old place, do you? Why, they've had it, and the old man has been living there--he comes down every morning and goes up every night--walks both ways, he do, like a young chap--this two or three months past. Mrs. Hawkins she couldn't bear the lonesomeness of it when the winter come on, and was right down glad to get out of it. They gave Hawkins nearly double what _you_ got for it. I told yer at the time that yer was a-throwing of it away." The girls tried to look as if they had known all about it, while they digested their surprise. It was a very great surprise, almost amounting to a shock. "And how _is_ Mr. Paul?" asked Mrs. Dunn of Patty. "Dear young man, it's a long time since we've seen anything of him! I hope he's keeping his health well!" "I think so--I hope so," said Patty gently. "He works very hard, you know, writing things for the papers. He is wanted too much to be able to take holidays like ordinary people. They couldn't get on without him." Elizabeth turned round in astonishment: she had expected to see her sister in a blaze of wrath over Sam's unexpected communications. "I'm afraid you won't like this arrangement, dearie," she whispered. "What had we better do?" "Oh, go--go," replied Patty, with a tremulous eagerness that she vainly tried to hide. "I don't mind it. I--I am glad to see Mr. Brion. It will be very nice to stay with him--and in our own dear old house too. Oh, I wouldn't refuse to go for anything! Besides we _can't_." "No, I don't see how we can," acquiesced Elizabeth, cheerfully. Patty having no objection, she was delighted with the prospect.