* * * * *
In the cabin of the _Shining Light_, cross-legged on the table, in the
midst of the order she had accomplished, her hands neatly folded in
her lap, Judith sat serene. She had heard my clatter on the
gang-plank, my shuffle and heavy tread on the deck. 'Twas I, she knew:
there was no mistaking, God help me! the fall of my feet on road or
deck. It may be that her heart for a moment fluttered to know that
the lad that was I came at last. She has not told me: I do not know.
But faith! my own was troublesome enough with a new and irritating
uneasiness, for which was no accounting.