These were some of the questions which weighed upon the simple soul of Jedidah Edgar Wilfred Winslow.
And heavier still there weighed the thought of Ruth Armstrong.

He had given her his word not to mention her brother's secret to a soul, not even to him.

And yet, some day or other, as sure and certain as the daily flowing and ebbing of the tides, that secret would become known.

Some day Captain Sam Hunniwell would learn it; some day Maud would learn it.

Better, far better, that they learned it before marriage, or even before the public announcement of their engagement--always provided there was to be such an engagement.