“It is a rather lonely but by no means dangerous walk, Cousin Betty,” he added, holding the gate open for her and the others to pass out.

“Lonely enough for me to indulge in a moderate amount of fun and laughter, is it not, sir?” she returned, in an inquiring tone.

She seemed full of life and gayety, while Zoe was unusually quiet.

They walked into the town and all the way down to the wharf; but the Edna was not there, nor could they hear any news of her.  Zoe seemed full of anxiety and distress, though the others tried to convince her there was no occasion for it.

“Come, come, cheer up, little woman,” the captain said, seeing her eyes fill with tears.  “If we do not see or hear from them by this time to-morrow night, we may begin to be anxious; but till then there is really no need.”

“There, Zoe, you have an opinion that is worth something, the captain being an experienced sailor,” remarked Betty.  “So thry to be aisy, my dear, and if ye can’t be aisy, be as aisy as ye can!”

Zoe laughed faintly at Betty’s jest; then, with a heroic effort, put on an air of cheerfulness, and contributed her full quota to the sprightly chat on the homeward walk.

She kept up her cheerful manner till she had parted from the rest for the night, but wet her solitary pillow with tears ere her anxiety and loneliness were forgotten in sleep.

Her spirits revived with the new day, for the sun rose clear and bright, the sea was calm, and she said to herself, “Oh, surely the Edna will come in before night, and Ned and I will be together again!”

Many times that day both she and his mother scanned intently the wide waste of waters, and watched with eager eyes the approach of some distant sail, hoping it might prove the one they looked and longed for.

But their hopes were disappointed again and again; noon passed, and the Edna was not in sight.

“Mamma, what can be keeping them?” sighed Zoe, as the two stood together on the brow of the hill, still engaged in their fruitless search.

“Not necessarily anything amiss,” Elsie answered.  “You remember that when they went it was quite uncertain whether they would return earlier than to-night; so let us not suffer ourselves to be uneasy because they are not yet here.”

“I am ashamed of myself,” Zoe said.  “I wish I could learn to be as patient and cheerful as you are, mamma.”

“I trust you will be more so by the time you are my age,” Elsie said, putting an arm about Zoe’s waist and drawing her close, with a tender caress.  “I still at times feel the risings of impatience; I have not fully learned to ‘let patience have her perfect work.’

“There is an old proverb, ‘A watched pot never boils,’” she added, with sportive look and tone.  “Suppose we seat ourselves in the veranda yonder and try to forget the Edna for awhile in an interesting story.  I have a new book which looks very interesting, and has been highly commended in some of the reviews.  We will get papa to read it aloud to us while we busy ourselves with our fancy-work.  Shall we not?”