A Fisher Girl of France by Fernand Calmettes

The four sailors of the _Bon-Pêcheur_ could not return home at once. They were on a schooner bound to Saint-Valery, and had to wait until, at dawn, the outgoing tide would leave the bay dry. But when Silvere reached home that night he spread the news of their return, and their wives, who had waited so long, were only too happy at the thought of going to meet them.

All had donned their best clothes, and, with white bonnets and skirts so gay that they seemed to brighten the night, were ready when, at two o'clock in the morning, the sand began to be bare.