Thankful had heard enough.  She was out of bed the next instant.

“Emily!  Emily!” she cried.  “It’s late.  We must get up now.”

The voices in the sitting-room died to whispers.

“I—­I can’t help it,” pleaded Kenelm.  “I never meant nothin’.  I thought they was asleep.  And ’tis most eight.  By time, Hannah, you do pick on me—­”

A vigorous “Sshh!” interrupted him.  The door between the sitting-room and dining-room closed with a slam.  Mrs. Barnes and Emily dressed hurriedly.

They gathered about the breakfast table, the Parkers, Captain Obed and the guests.  Miss Parker’s “company manner” was again much in evidence and she seemed to feel it her duty to lead the conversation.  She professed to have discovered a striking resemblance between Miss Howes and a deceased relative of her own named Melinda Ellis.

“The more I see of you, Miss Howes,” she declared, “the more I can’t help thinkin’ of poor Melindy.  She was pretty and had dark eyes and hair same’s you’ve got, and that same sort of—­of consumptic look to her.  Not that you’ve got consumption, I don’t mean that.  Only you look the way she done, that’s all.  She did have consumption, poor thing.  Everybody thought she’d die of it, but she didn’t.  She got up in the night to take some medicine and she took the wrong kind—­toothache lotion it was and awful powerful—­and it ate right through to her diagram.  She didn’t live long afterwards, poor soul.”

No one said anything for a moment after this tragic recital.  Then Captain Bangs observed cheerfully: 

“Well, I guess Miss Howes ain’t likely to drink any toothache lotion.”

Hannah nodded sedately.  “I trust not,” she said.  “But accidents do happen.  And Melindy and Miss Howes look awful like each other.  You’re real well, I hope, Miss Howes.  After bein’ exposed the way you was last night I hope you haven’t caught cold.  You never can tell what’ll follow a cold—­with some people.”

Thankful was glad when the meal was over.  She, too, was fearful that her cousin might have taken cold during the wet chill of the previous night.  But Emily declared she was very well indeed; that the very sight of the sunlit sea through the dining-room windows had acted like a tonic.

“Good enough!” exclaimed Captain Obed, heartily.  “Then we ought to be gettin’ a bigger dose of that tonic.  Mrs. Barnes, if you and Miss Howes would like to walk over and have a look at that property of yours, now’s as good a time as any to be doin’ it.  I’ll go along with you if I won’t be in the way.”

Thankful looked down rather doubtfully at the borrowed gown she was wearing, but Miss Parker came to the rescue by announcing that her guests’ own garments must be dry by this time, they had been hanging by the stove all night.  So, after the change had been made, the two left the Parker residence and took the foot-path at the top of the bluff.  Captain Obed seemed at first rather uneasy.