"Well, I have learned better since, Ralph; and I know now that there
is not necessarily any danger, even if you don't come back by the time
I expect you. And of course each time I have fidgeted and you have
come back safe, I have learned a certain amount of sea-knowledge, and
have come to know that sailors and fishermen are not accountable for
time; and that if the wind drops or tide turns they are helpless in
the matter, and have only to wait till a breeze comes up again."

"I think, mother, you ought to like my going out at night better than
in the daytime."

"Why, Ralph?"

"Because, mother, if I go out in the daytime and don't get back until
after dark, you worry yourself, and having no one to talk to, sit here
wondering and wondering until you fancy all sorts of things. Now, if I
go out in the evening, and I don't come back in the morning at the
hour you expect, you see that it is fine and bright, and that there is
nothing to make you uneasy; or if you do feel fidgety, you can walk
down to the beach and talk to the boatmen and fishermen, and of course
they can tell you at once that there's nothing to worry about, and
very likely point the boat out to you in the distance."

"Well, Ralph, perhaps that is so, although I own I never looked at it
in that light before."