The young man’s name aroused her interest, not to say her curiosity, the more deeply because of its association, with a locality exploration of which had always been denied her—­a Naboth’s vineyard of the imagination, near at hand, daily in sight, yet personal acquaintance with which she failed to possess even yet.  The idea of an island, especially a quite little island, a miniature and separate world, shut off all by itself, is dreadfully enticing to the infant mind—­at once a geographical entity and a cunning sort of toy.  And Faircloth’s Inn, with the tarred wooden houses adjacent, was situated upon what, to all intents and purposes, might pass as an island since accessible only by boat or by an ancient paved causeway daily submerged at high tide.

Skirting the further edge of the warren, a wide rutted side lane leads down to the landward end of the said causeway from the village green, just opposite Deadham post office and Mrs. Doubleday’s general shop.—­A neglected somewhat desolate strip of road this, between broken earthbanks topped by ragged firs, yet very paintable and dear to the sketch-book of the amateur.  In summer overgrown with grass and rushes, bordered by cow-parsley, meadowsweet, pink codlings-and-cream, and purple flowered peppermint, in winter a marsh of sodden brown and vivid green; but at all seasons a telling perspective, closed by the lonely black and grey island hamlet set in the gleaming tide.

Small wonder the place stirred Damaris’ spirit of enquiry and adventure!  She wanted to go there, to examine, to learn how people lived cut off from the mainland for hours twice every day and night.  But her early attempts at investigation met with prompt discouragement from both her nurse and her aunt, Felicia Verity.  And Damaris was not of the disposition which plots, wheedles, and teases to obtain what it wants; still less screams for the desired object until for very weariness resistance yields.  Either she submitted without murmuring or fearlessly defied authority.  In the present case she relinquished hope and purpose obediently, while inwardly longing for exploration, of her “darling little island” all the more.

But authority was not perhaps altogether unjustified of its decision, for the inhabitants of the spot so engaging to Damaris’ imagination were a close corporation, a race of sailors and fishermen and, so said rumour, somewhat rough customers at that.  They lived according to their own traditions and unwritten laws, entertained a lordly contempt for wage-earning labourers and landsmen, and, save when money was likely to pass, were grudging of hospitality even to persons of quality setting foot within their coasts.