"She must be a wonderful woman," said Scoutbush; "I should like to see
her."

"And I too," said Campbell, "I passed a lovely girl on the stairs last
night, and thought no more of it. Lovely girls are common enough in West
Country ports."

"We'll go and see her," quoth his lordship.

Meanwhile, Aberalva pier was astonished by a strange phenomenon. A boat
from the yacht landed at the pier-head, not only Claude Mellot, whose
beard was an object of wonder to the fishermen, but a tall three-legged
box and a little black tent; which, being set upon the pier, became the
scene of various mysterious operations, carried on by Claude and a
sailor lad.

"I say!" quoth one of the fishing elders, after long suspicious silence;
"I say, lads, this won't do. We can't have no outlandish foreigners
taking observations here!"

And then dropped out one wild suspicion after another.

"Maybe he's surveying for a railroad?"

"Maybe he's from the Trinity House, going to make a new harbour; or
maybe a lighthouse. And then we'd better not meddle wi' him."

"I'll tell you what he be. He's that here government chap as the Doctor
said he'd bring down to set our drains right."