“I promised the both of you to give you an answer to-day. I’ve been thinking and thinking and thinking, till I began to get angry with you both for plaguing me so; and even now I don’t seem any nearer than ever I was to making up my mind.” Eric said suddenly:

“Let us toss for it, lass!” Sarah showed no indignation whatever at the proposition; her mother’s eternal suggestion had schooled her to the acceptance of something of the kind, and her weak nature made it easy to her to grasp at any way out of the difficulty. She stood with downcast eyes idly picking at the sleeve of her dress, seeming to have tacitly acquiesced in the proposal. Both men instinctively realising this pulled each a coin from his pocket, spun it in the air, and dropped his other hand over the palm on which it lay. For a few seconds they remained thus, all silent; then Abel, who was the more thoughtful of the men, spoke:

“Sarah! is this good?” As he spoke he removed the upper hand from the coin and placed the latter back in his pocket. Sarah was nettled.

“Good or bad, it’s good enough for me! Take it or leave it as you like,” she said, to which he replied quickly:

“Nay lass! Aught that concerns you is good enow for me. I did but think of you lest you might have pain or disappointment hereafter. If you love Eric better nor me, in God’s name say so, and I think I’m man enow to stand aside. Likewise, if I’m the one, don’t make us both miserable for life!” Face to face with a difficulty, Sarah’s weak nature proclaimed itself; she put her hands before her face and began to cry, saying—

“It was my mother. She keeps telling me!” The silence which followed was broken by Eric, who said hotly to Abel:

“Let the lass alone, can’t you? If she wants to choose this way, let her. It’s good enough for me—and for you, too! She’s said it now, and must abide by it!” Hereupon Sarah turned upon him in sudden fury, and cried:

“Hold your tongue! What is it to you, at any-rate?” and she resumed her crying. Eric was so flabbergasted that he had not a word to say, but stood looking particularly foolish, with his mouth open and his hands held out with the coin still between them. All were silent till Sarah, taking her hands from her face, laughed hysterically and said:

“As you two can’t make up your minds, I’m going home!” and she turned to go.

“Stop,” said Abel, in an authoritative voice. “Eric, you hold the coin, and I’ll cry. Now, before we settle it, let us clearly understand: the man who wins takes all the money that we both have got, brings it to Bristol and ships on a voyage and trades with it. Then he comes back and marries Sarah, and they two keep all, whatever there may be, as the result of the trading. Is this what we understand?”