the watchers on the shore!

'How many boats went out last night, Bob?' said one man as they drew
nearer.

'There was eight, Jem,' he said--'the Jane Ann one, Lady Hilda two, the
Susan three, the Mary Ann four, Princess Alice five, the Lightning six,
the Eliza seven, the Alert eight.'

'Are you sure, Bob?'

'Quite sure, I saw them start.'

'Well, there's one missing, Jem,' he said; 'catch hold of this glass,
and just you count.'

'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.'

There _was_ one missing, and I felt that I knew which it was before
they came in sight.

It was the Mary Ann.

[Illustration]




[Illustration]