She would come as soon as the ice diminished; she would bring him news, withheld for four months, of how his parents had fared in his absence.

Caius had not yet decided that he would go home by the first trip; the thought of leaving, when it forced itself upon him, was very painful.

This steamer was the first arrival expected, and the islanders, eager for variety and mails, looked excitedly to see the ice melt or be drifted away.

Caius looked at the ice ring with more intense longing, but his longing was that it should remain.

His wishes, like prayers, besought the cold winds and frosty nights to conserve it for him.
It so happened that the Gaspe schooner arrived before the southern packet, and lay outside of the ice, waiting until she could make her way through.