Elsie, but these rational moments were few and, although he talked a
little, he never mentioned recent events nor alluded to the fire.

The fire itself became an old story and gossip took up other subjects.
The "Come-Outers" held a jubilee service because of the destruction
of the saloon, but, as "Web" soon began to rebuild and repair, their
jollification was short-lived. As for Mr. Saunders, he was the same
unctuous, smiling personage that he had formerly been. It was a curious
fact, and one that Captain Eri noted, that he never ceased to inquire
after John Baxter's health, and seemed honestly glad to hear of the old
man's improvement. He asked a good many questions about Elsie, too, but
received little satisfaction from the Captain on this subject.



CHAPTER X

MATCHMAKING AND LIFE-SAVING


Captain Jerry sat behind the woodshed, in the sunshine, smoking and
thinking. He had done a good deal of the first ever since he was sixteen
years old; the second was, in a measure, a more recent acquirement. The
Captain had things on his mind.

It was one of those perfect, springlike mornings that sometimes come
in early November. The sky was clear blue, and the air was so free from
haze that the houses at Cranberry Point could be seen in every detail.
The flag on the cable station across the bay stood out stiff in the
steady breeze, and one might almost count the stripes. The pines on