But womanly little Prue had taken her place well , and the boys were devoted to their sister . When their father died , Everett had applied for the position of lighthouse keeper . The matter was not yet publicly decided , but old Cooper Creasy had sized the situation up accurately . The Millers had no real hope that Everett would be appointed . Victoria Day , while not absolutely stormy , proved to be rather unpleasant . A choppy northeast wind blew up the bay , and the water was rough enough . The sky was overcast with clouds , and the May air was raw and chilly . At Blue Point the Millers were early astir , for if Everett wanted to sail over to the mainland in time to catch the excursion train , no morning naps were permissible . He was going alone . Since only one of the boys could go , Natty had insisted that it should be Everett , and Prue had elected to stay home with Natty . Prue had small heart for Victoria Day that year . She did not feel even a thrill of enthusiasm when Natty hoisted a flag and wreathed the Queen 's picture with creeping spruce . Prue felt as badly about leaving Blue Point Island as the boys did . The day passed slowly . In the afternoon the wind fell away to a dead calm , but there was still a heavy swell on , and shortly before sunset a fog came creeping up from the east and spread over the bay and islands , so thick and white that Prue and Natty could not even see Little Bear Island on the right . `` I 'm glad Everett is n't coming back tonight , '' said Prue . `` He could never find his way cross the harbour in that fog . '' `` Is n't it thick , though , '' said Natty . `` The light wo n't show far tonight . '' At sunset they lighted the great lamps and then settled down to an evening of reading .
But it was not long before Natty looked up from his book to say , `` Hello , Prue , what was XXXXX ?
At before for from in on over that to with