Van Dusen suggested that the newly wedded pair should go ashore to receive the congratulations of the crowd that now thronged the water front. But Ichabod, having in mind pestiferous small boys, steadfastly refused any such exhibition of himself and his bride. His opinion of them would have been confirmed could he have overheard their questioning of Doctor Hudson, which was: Had he examined their teeth to see how old they were? Nevertheless, the townsfolk, though they got no sight of the principals in the affair, cheered with a lusty good-will. And, too, they dragged a cannon down to the shore, where the gunner fired a salute of twenty-one thunderous explosions. The Collector of the Port, who alone knew that this was an honor reserved for the President of the United States, inquired curiously why this exact number was chosen. The gunner replied seriously that it represented the bride's age. At Uncle Icky's request, the yacht sailed first for the coast-guard station. Here, he had no hesitation in proclaiming his new state and in receiving the congratulations of his friends--for there were no small boys to trouble. He explained the whereabouts of Shrimp and the hens, with a request that they should be rescued from the barren stretch of sand. The coast-guard men promised that the little flock should receive a home at the station itself. Thus, the old fisherman's last concern with the old life was happily ended. In a moment apart, he made a final entry in the diary. "Through with Shrimp and the shack, by heck! My weddin'-day! Hooray!" It was owing to a request by Ethel to Van Dusen that the yacht's course was to Portsmouth that night. Early next morning, before the others were stirring, Captain Ichabod rowed Ethel in a small boat from _The Hialdo's_ anchorage to the town. They were absent for a full three hours. On her return, Ethel spoke with enthusiasm of the town's quaint charm, but she gave no details of her visit there, not even to Roy. The old fisherman said nothing at all of the trip, not even to Sarah Jones. The wedded pair, though urged to prolong their stay on the yacht, insisted on leaving when _The Hialdo_ reached Norfolk. They took with them a promise from their new friends to come south again in order to attend the opening of the new Inlet Hotel. * * * * * Colonel Marion was appointed to head a mission to France for study on the war-methods there. On his return to New York from Texas, he urged Ethel's immediate marriage, before his sailing. Naturally, there was no objection on the part of the lovers, and the father was able to depart tranquil in the assurance that his daughter would be safe in her husband's care. One morning a few months later, as Roy and Ethel sat at breakfast, the servant brought him a letter with a Paris postmark, which was addressed in the familiar hand of Colonel Marion. Somewhat surprised that the letter should be to him rather than to Ethel, Roy opened it and read: