Heads Of Codfish, In Which The Gorged And Sleepy Flies Were Crawling In
And Out Of The Eye-Sockets.
She Reached The Lighthouse Without Turning Her Head; She Was Determined
Not To Look Back At Him. At The Top, However, She Was Obliged To Pause
To Get Her Breath; She Surely Might Look And See How Far He Got.
Madeleine Knew That The Other Fishermen Had Had A Long Start, And
Expected, Therefore, To Find Per'S Boat Far Behind, Between The Others
And The Shore. But It Was Not To Be Seen, Neither There Nor In The
Harbour. All At Once Her Eye Caught The Well-Known Craft, Which Was Not,
However, Far Behind, But Almost Level With The Others. Per Must Have
Rowed Like A Madman. She Was Well Able To Estimate The Distance, And
Could Appreciate Such A Feat Of Oarsmanship, And, Entirely Forgetting
Her Pain And That She Was Alone, She Turned Round As If To A Crowd Of
Spectators, And Pointing At The Boats She Said, With Sparkling Eyes,
"Look At Him! That'S The Boy To Row!"
Meanwhile Per Sat In His Boat, Tearing At His Oars Till All Cracked
Again. It Was As Though He Wished To Punish Himself By His Gigantic
Efforts. Her Form Grew Smaller And Smaller As He Rowed Out To Sea, Till
At Length She Was Out Of Sight; But He Had Deserved It All. "Deuce Take
The Women!" And Each Time He Repeated The Words He Sprang To His Oars
And Rowed As If For Bare Life.
The Next Day The Same Lovely Weather Continued, And The Sea Lay As
Smooth As Oil In The Bright Sunshine. An English Lobster-Cutter Was In
The Offing, With Sails Flapping Against The Mast, And The Slack In The
Taut Rigging Could Be Seen As The Craft Heaved Lazily To And Fro On The
Gentle Swell. Madeleine Sat By The Window; She Did Not Care To Go Out.
Her Eye Followed The Lobster-Cutter, Which She Knew Well: It Was The
_Flying Fish_, Captain Crab, Of Hull.
So Per Must Have Been Out With Lobsters That Morning: She Wondered If He
Had Caught Many. Perhaps He Might Have Done Himself Harm By His Efforts
Of Yesterday. She Went Out On To The Slope, And Looked Down Into The
Harbour. Per'S Boat Was There; It Was Quite Likely He Was Not Well.
Suddenly Madeleine Made Up Her Mind To Run Down And Ask A Man Whom She
Saw By The Boat-Houses, But Half-Way Down The Slope She Met Some One Who
Was Coming Upwards. She Could Not Possibly Have Seen Him Sooner, Because
He Was Below Her At The Steepest Part Of The Hill, But Now She
Recognized Him, And Slackened Her Pace.
Per Must Also Have Seen Her, Although He Was Looking Down, For At A Few
Paces From Her He Left The Main Path, And Took One That Was A Little
Lower. When Therefore They Were Alongside Each Other, She Was A Little
Above Him. Per Had A Basket On His Back, And Madeleine Could See There
Was Seaweed In It.
Neither Of Them Spoke, But Both Of Them Felt As If They Were Half
Chapter 2 Pg 11
Choking. When He Had Got A Pace Beyond Her, She Turned Round And Asked,
"What Have You Got In The Basket, Per?"
"A Lobster," Answered He, As He Swung The Basket Off His Back And Put It
Down Upon The Path.
"Let Me See It," Said Madeleine.
He Hastily Drew Aside The Seaweed, And Took Out A Gigantic Lobster,
Which Was Flapping Its Broad, Scaly Tail.
"That Is A Splendid Great Lobster!" She Cried.
"Yes, It Isn'T A Bad Un!"
"What Are You Going To Do With It?"
"Ask Your Father If He Would Like To Have It."
"What Do You Want For It?" She Asked, Although She Knew Perfectly Well
That It Was A Present.
"Nothing," Answered Per, Curtly.
"That Is Good Of You, Per."
"Oh, It'S Nothing," He Answered, As He Laid The Seaweed Back In The
Basket; And Now, When The Moment Came To Say Good-Bye, He Said, "How'S
Your Foot?"
"Thanks, All Right. I Got The Brandy."
"Did It Hurt Much?" Asked Per.
"No, Not Very Much."
"I Am Glad You Did That," He Said, As He Ventured To Lift His Eyes To
The Level Of Her Chin.
Now They Really Must Separate, For There Was Nothing More To Be Said,
But Madeleine Could Not Help Thinking That Per Was A Helpless Creature.
"Good-Bye, Per."
"Good-Bye," He Answered, And Both Took A Few Steps Apart.
"Per, Where Are You Going When You Have Been Up With The Lobster?"
"Nowhere Particular," Answered Per.
He Really Was Too Stupid, But All The Same She Turned Round And Called
After Him, "I Am Going To The Sand-Hills On The Other Side Of The
Lighthouse, The Weather Is So Lovely;" And Away She Ran.
"All Right," Answered Per, Springing Like A Cat Up The Slope.
As He Ran He Threw Away The Seaweed So As To Have The Lobster Ready, And
When He Got To The Kitchen Door He Flung The Monster Down On The Bench,
Chapter 2 Pg 13
Laughing. They Jested And Laughed As If They Knew Not That They Were No
Longer Children, And She Made Per Promise To Give Up Chewing Tobacco.
Away Along The Curving Shore, With The Salt Breath Of Ocean Fresh Upon
Them, Went These Young Hearts, Rejoicing In Their Existence, While The
Sea Danced In Sparkling Wavelets At Their Feet.
The _Attache_ Had Just Finished A Letter To His Brother; It Was One Of
These Wearisome Business Letters, Enclosing Some Papers He Had Had To
Sign. He Never Could Make Out Where The Proper Place Was For Him To Put
His Name On These Tiresome, Long-Winded Documents. But, Wonderful To
Relate, His Brother Always Told Him That It Was Perfectly Correct, And
Christian Frederick Was Most Particular In Such Matters. The Old
Gentleman Had Just Sent Off The Letter, And Was Beginning To Breathe
More Easily, When He Went To The Window And Looked Out. He Discovered
Two Forms Going In a Northerly Direction Over The Sand-Hills.
Half Abstractedly, He Went To The Other Window And Directed The Large
Telestope Upon Them.
"Humph!" Said He, "I Declare, They'Re There Again."
Suddenly He Took His Eye From The Telescope.
"Hulloa! The Girl Must Be Mad."
He Put His Eye Down Again To The Telescope, And Threw Away His
Cigarette. There Was No Doubt About It--There Was His Own Madeleine
Hanging Round Per'S Neck. He Rubbed
