Page:Silver Shoal Light.djvu/65

Rh Cap'n 'Bijah brought us out last night one Joan Kirkland, from town, who had been turned away from the overflowing Harbor View House. She had gone all over Quimpaug with 'Bijah, looking for quarters, and was in despair. But we soothed her with food and a good fire on the hearth; now she is quite calm and is spending a week with us, instead of at the hotel. It did seem a shame to let her go straight back to town, and there was really nowhere in Quimpang for her to stay.

She is a truly beautiful person, a delight to look upon, gracious and stately as a medieval ladye. She likes it here, I think, though I imagine that our casual way of living is something of a trial to her. I can't quite make her out yet. Garth stumbled into her room this morning, not knowing that she was there. She was doing her hair, and he thought she was a mermaid. I can't quite tell whether or not she was annoyed. It seems hard to imagine any one's being annoyed with Garth, but she was rather stiff about it. He took her fishing this morning, and she caught a good blackfish—somewhat against her will, apparently—and I must say that she was quite decent about the slime all over her nice white blouse. She lost her hat, too, but people shouldn't wear garden-hats out here. When we went sailing this afternoon, Garth dug out a dilapidated duck one from the lamp-room passage, and she wore it without a murmur.

To our great surprise, we found that she can sail exceedingly well, though she dived wretchedly this morning. Apparently she learned it once as a sort of science, and knows all the theories without much