"He drove off then and I walked along thinkin'. I knew who he was
now, of course. There was consider'ble talk when the Lathrop place was
rented, and I gathered that the feller who hired it answered to the hail
of Williams and was a retired banker, sufferin' from an enlarged income
and the diseases that go along with it. He lived alone up there in the
big house, except for a cranky housekeeper and two or three servants.
This was afore he got married, Sim; his wife's tamed him a little. Then
the yarns about his temper and language would have filled a log book.

"But all this was way to one side of the mark-buoy, so fur as I was
concerned. I'd cruised with cranks afore and I thought I could stand
this one--ten dollars' worth of him, anyhow. Bluster and big talk may
scare some folks, but to me they're like Aunt Hepsy Parker's false
teeth, the further off you be from 'em the more real they look. So the
next mornin' I was up bright and early and on my way over to the Lathrop
landin'.

"The launch was there, made fast alongside the little wharf. Nice,
slick-lookin' craft she was, too, all varnish and gilt gorgeousness. I'd
liked her better if she'd carried a sail, for it's my experience that
canvas is a handy thing to have aboard in case of need; but she looked
seaworthy enough and built for speed.

"While I was standin' on the pier lookin' down at her I heard footsteps
and brisk remarks from behind the bushes on the bank, and here comes
Williams, puffin' and blowin', followed by a sulky-lookin' hired man
totin' a deckload of sweaters and ileskins, with a lunch basket on top.
Williams himself wan't carryin' anything but his temper, but he hadn't
forgot none of that.