“Can I?” The response was enthusiastic.  “You watch me!  My last meal was yesterday noon.”

“Yesterday noon!  Didn’t you eat no supper?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I—­well, to be frank, because I hadn’t the price.  It took my last cent to pay my fare on that blessed steamer.”

“Great land of love!  What time was it when you fell overboard?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  Two o’clock, perhaps.”

“Two o’clock!  What was you doin’ up at two o’clock?  Why wasn’t you in your stateroom asleep?”

“I hadn’t any stateroom.  Staterooms cost money.”

“My soul!  And you swum three hours on an empty stomach?”

“Not altogether.  Part of it on my back.  But, if you’ll excuse familiarity on short acquaintance, those things you’re cooking smell good to me.”

“Them’s clam fritters, and, if you’ll excuse my sayin’ so that shouldn’t, they are good.  Set down and fill up.”

The visitor ate nine of the fritters, a slice of dried-apple pie, and drank two cups of coffee.  Seth, between intervals of frying and eating, watched him with tremendous curiosity and as much patience as he could muster.  When the pie was finished he asked the first of the questions with which he had been bursting all the forenoon.

“Tell me,” he said, “how’d you come to fall overboard?”

“I’m not very certain just how it happened.  I remember leaning over the rail and watching the waves.  Then I was very dizzy all at once.  The next thing I knew I was in the water.”

“Dizzy, hey?  Seasick, may be.”

“I guess not.  I’m a pretty good sailor.  I’m inclined to think the cause was that empty stomach you mentioned.”

“Um-hm.  You didn’t have no supper.  Still, you ate the noon afore.”

“Not much.  Only a sandwich.”

“A sandwich!  What did you have for breakfast?”

“Well, the fact is, I overslept and decided to omit the breakfast.”

“Gosh! no wonder you got dizzy.  If I went without meals for a whole day I cal’late I’d be worse than dizzy.  What did you do when you found yourself in the water?”

“Yelled at first, but no one heard me.  Then I saw some lights off in this direction and started to swim for them.  I made the shore finally, but I was so used up that I don’t remember anything after the landing.  Think I took a nap.”

“I presume likely.  Wonder ‘twasn’t your everlastin’ nap!  Tut! tut! tut!  Think of it!”

“I don’t want to, thank you.  It isn’t pleasant enough to think of.  I’m here and—­by the way, where is here?”

“This is Eastboro township—­Eastboro, Cape Cod.  Them lights out there are Eastboro Twin-Lights.  I’m the keeper of ’em.  My name’s Atkins, Seth Atkins.”

“Delighted to meet you, Mr. Atkins.  And tremendously obliged to you, besides.”

“You needn’t be.  I ain’t done nothin’.  Let me see, you said your name was—­”