CHAPTER I

. NIGHT ON THE BEACH 7

II. MORNING ON THE BEACH--THE THREE LETTERS 19

III. THE OLD CALABOOSE--DESTINY AT THE DOOR 29

IV. THE YELLOW FLAG 39

V. THE CARGO OF CHAMPAGNE 46

VI. THE PARTNERS 69

## PART II.--THE QUARTETTE

VII. THE PEARL-FISHER 81

VIII. BETTER ACQUAINTANCE 96

IX. THE DINNER PARTY 109

X. THE OPEN DOOR 118

XI. DAVID AND GOLIATH 131

XII. A TAIL-PIECE 151

WEIR OF HERMISTON

Introductory 159

I. Life and Death of Mrs. Weir 161

II. Father and Son 175

III. In the Matter of the Hanging of Duncan Jopp 181

IV. Opinions of the Bench 196

V. Winter on the Moors: 1. At Hermiston 205 2. Kirstie 208 3. A Border Family 212

VI. A Leaf from Christina's Psalm-Book 228

VII. Enter Mephistopheles 253

VIII. A Nocturnal Visit 270

IX. At the Weaver's Stone 278

Sir Sidney Colvin's Note 284

Glossary of Scots Words 297

THE EBB-TIDE

_A Trio and Quartette_

WRITTEN IN COLLABORATION WITH LLOYD OSBOURNE

"_There is a tide in the affairs of men_"

NOTE.--_On the pronunciation of a name very frequently repeated in these pages, the reader may take for a guide_--

"It was the schooner _Farallone_."

_R. L. S.--L. O._

NOTE BY MR. LLOYD OSBOURNE

Stevenson and I little knew, when we began our collaboration, that we were afterwards to raise such a hornets' nest about our ears. The critics resented such an unequal partnership, and made it impossible for us to continue it. It may be that they were right; they wanted Stevenson's best, and felt pretty sure they would not get it in our collaboration. But when they ascribed all the good in our three books to Stevenson and all the bad to me, they went a little beyond the mark. It is a pleasure to me to recall that the early part of both "The Wrecker" and "The Ebb-Tide" was almost entirely my own; so also were the storm scenes of the _Norah Creina_; so also the fight on the _Flying Scud_; so also the inception of Huish's scheme, the revelation of it to his companions, his landing on the atoll with the bottle of vitriol in his breast. On the other hand, the Paris portion of "The Wrecker" was all Stevenson's, as well as the concluding chapters of both the South Sea books.

It is not possible to disentangle anything else that was wholly mine or his--the blending was too complete, our method of work too criss-crossed and intimate. For instance, we would begin by outlining the story in a general way; this done, we marshalled it into chapters, with a few explanatory words to each; then it was for me to write the first draft of