other in the captain's cabin aboard the _Mary Rogers_.

"An' why were ye sittin' prayin' for fire with the gir-rl thremblin'
and freezin' to death in yer ar-rms if ye knew so well how to be makin'
one?"

"Hush--Dan," said Kate; for the fire of anger blew high.

McTee started.

"You know each other pretty well, eh?"

"Tut, tut!" said Harrigan airily. "You can't expect a slip of a girl to
be calling a black man like _you_ by the front name?"

McTee moistened his white lips. He rose.

"I'm going for a walk--I always do after eating."

And he strode off down the beach. Harrigan instantly secured a handful
of the shellfish.

"Speakin' of salt," he said apologetically, "I'll have to try a couple
of these to be sure that the captain's right. I can tell by a taste or
two."

He pried open one of the shells and ate the contents hastily, keeping
one eye askance against the return of McTee.

"Maybe he's right about these shellfish," he pronounced judicially,