held a luster heralding the sun. The "hush-hush" of the surf along The
Beaches was more insistent now than at any time since Louise had come
to Cap'n Abe's store, while the moan of the breakers on the outer reefs
was like the deep notes of a distant organ.

A cock crew, and at his signal outdoor life seemed to awaken. Other
chanticleers sounded their alarms; a colt whistled in a paddock and his
mother neighed softly from her stall; a cow lowed; then, sweet and
clear as a mountain stream, broke forth the whistle of a wild bird in
the marsh. This matin of the feathered songster rose higher and higher
till he reached the very top note of his scale and then fell again, by
cadences, until it mingled with the less compelling calls of other
birds.

There was a warm pinkness spreading through the fog in one direction,
and Louise knew it must be the reflection of the light upon the eastern
horizon. The sun would soon begin a new day's journey.

The fog was fast thinning, for across the road she could see a spiral
of blue smoke, mounting through it from the chimney of a neighbor. The
kitchen fire there had just been lighted.

Below, and from the living-rooms behind the store, the girl heard some
faint noises as though the early morning tasks of getting in wood and
filling the coal scuttle were under way. Uncle Amazon must be "takin'
holt" just as Cap'n Abe said he would.

Louise was curious to see the returned mariner; but it was too early to
go down yet. She might really have another nap before she dressed, she
thought, yawning behind a pink palm.