LOW, squat, grayish rock, as square as a monument, and crowned with a sparse growth of pines, rose out of the water just off the port bow; far ahead, a level, vividly green disk, with clumps of trees here and there upon it, lay like a partly submerged meadow, and between the two oddly dissimilar islands, a larger one lay basking in the afternoon sun.
At the end nearest to us, a great, gray mass of stone jutted out into the water, its walls rising steeply, like a cliff. On the loftiest, outmost point the ruins of an old lighthouse reared itself, staunchly, pathetically courageous, like a superannuated hero, its useless, dismantled old head held high in the pride of past achievements. From the back of the promontory, the ground, thickly wooded, sloped down gradually to the water's level, at the farther end of the island, its edge bordered by a rocky, rugged little beach, upon which the low surf rolled.
I saw no indication of a house through the heavily massed trees, as we glided with diminishing speed along the island's length, but when we rounded the shelving beach at the northern end, a little cry of delight escaped me. There, between two narrow peninsulas of scrub and sand lay a little cove, its waters as blue and placid and crystal-clear as those of a lake, and on the horseshoe curve of the shore, the soft white sand lay smooth and glistening in the sun. Behind it, the densely packed foliage of towering oaks and pines was bisected by a winding, cedar-strewn path, and the tall veranda columns of a spacious colonial house gleamed whitely through the trees.
I went hastily below, for a last look about my cabin, to see that nothing had been forgotten, and when I came on deck again, I saw Alaric standing apart at the starboard rail, deep in conversation with one of the sailors. It was the sailor who had watched me so oddly.
I paused involuntarily, in surprise, and at that moment the sailor said:
"Yes, sir. Two years ago, on the Neptunic, and a year before that, on the Saxonia. I never forget a face, sir."
His tone was low and significant, but not so low that the word did not come to me distinctly. There could be no mistake about the man's manner now. It was not only disrespectful, but positively insolent. He looked up and saw me, and leaning nearer to Alaric, said something quickly which was inaudible to my ears.
I hurried away to the port rail, where the rest were gathered, and instantly the little scene which I had inadvertently come upon passed from my mind.
A trim little houseboat, looking more like a miniature yacht club than anything else, nestled in a curve of the beach, and a short broad dock ran out from it, beside which a smart little launch, glistening with new paint, and a slender, torpedo shaped racing motorboat rode at anchor. It was a perfect little haven of peace and beauty, and coming upon it so suddenly it was almost like a scene in a play.
"I knew you would like it, Maida," Aunt Julie said, at my exclamation of pleasure. "Just wait till you see the house! Gracious! I'm glad to be home again!"
We left the Tortoise, and were rowed ashore in the dinghy. Aunt Julie, Alaric and myself going first, and Lorna and Bijou following with Monsieur Pelissier on the second trip.
We had had a delightful run in the yacht, but it was pleasant to step ashore, and feel firm ground beneath one's feet once more, and inhale the fresh tarry odor of balsam and spruce and pine. I could scarcely realize that we had left New York only the day before; it seemed as if we had been at sea much longer than a mere twenty-four hours, so many impressions had crowded in upon me.
The curving path leading up to the house was longer than it had seemed at the first glance from the yacht, and the house itself loomed larger as we approached it, our feet sinking deep with each step into the soft fragrant carpet of pine needles. Low huckleberry and sumac bushes, sassafras and wintergreen scrub, and oak and maple shoots grew thickly between the serried ranks of the trees, and I observed that although the semblance of its natural sylvan wildness had been maintained, the woods had been carefully cleared and pruned, and its picturesqueness artfully intensified and accentuated by cleverly massed groupings of rock, over which luxuriant, vividly colored vines trailed, and by rustic seats and grottoes and summer houses placed here and there.