VERYBODY was kind to little Bessie, and she began to get better; and Georgie, having got over his fright and his fatigue, was as saucy and as mischievous as a monkey, so that he was a great amusement to the men; but Arthur, being older, could not so soon forget all the unhappiness they had gone through, nor how much he had been to blame. They did not know whereabouts on the sea they were, but the men of the cutter had told Arthur that they were bound for Gravesend, where they would unship their load of fish. Arthur knew that Gravesend was near London, and he felt frightened when he thought how far that would be from Tormouth, or from Bath, where his papa lived. He went to the captain and said, 'Will you take me as a ship-boy, sir? I am big enough to work.' ( For why, my lad?' asked the captain. I thought you were a gentleman.' 'If we land at Gravesend I could never find my way home,' said Arthur, 'let alone poor Bessie and Georgie. If you will let us stay with you until you should happen to go to Tormouth, I would work while I am here.' Well, that's honest at any rate,' said the captain, smiling; but we are not at Gravesend yet, my boy, so don't fret yourself.' While Arthur was speaking to the captain there was a shout, and they saw a boat, which looked somehow like a friend, close up; and a man on board the boat was shouting something about three children and Tormouth; and Arthur ran to the side, and the first face he saw was that of Jones. He would have sprung over the side into the Tormouth boat if he had not been caught by the captain, and when he did contrive to get down he fell to hugging Jones round the neck with all his might. Then the man who was standing up, and who had been the one to shout, asked where the others were, and Arthur left go Jones and became grave again, and said that Bessie was very ill. 'The poor little maid! Ill, is she? I'll go and bring her down,' said the man; and he was about to climb on deck, when the captain came forward with Bessie in his arms. She stretched out her arms at once to the man in the boat, and said gently, Why, it is the captain of the collier who was nearly drowned;' for she knew him at once. 'So it is, my pretty,' said he; 'and he don't forget how you brought the rug to cover him. Here it is, you see; I'll wrap you in it, little lassie.' Yes, there was the rug she knew so well, and Bessie shut her eyes and felt quite happy; but she managed to wave her little hand to the man on board the cutter, as the boat rowed away fast towards home. 'It's next to a miracle coming across 'em like this—a miracle, and nothing else!' said Jones. Only Arthur knew what he meant. It was very late in the day now, and, the men covered up the children now for the night; but they themselves never left off rowing, changing about as they were tired. They had plenty of things to eat and drink, so that their voyage was very pleasant, but they were very impatient to be home. They had had enough of being on the water for a long time. How long it seemed since they had left the beach of Tormouth, and how lovely everything looked as they at length came near it! Arthur felt as if he must jump out before the boat came to shore. But at last they were close to shore, and those on the beach saw them-the boat full of men and children, dragging Jones's boat after her and people began to run towards the landing-place; and the fishermen set up a great Hurrah!' And there was Aunt Harriette with Mrs. Stubbs holding out her hands, and hardly knowing what she did, until in another minute the children were in her arms. To this day, sometimes by night Arthur will dream that he is out in that open boat at sea, with the stormy petrels flying about, and the thunder, and the lightning, and the rain! And he will start to find himself in his warm, comfortable bed at home, and wonder that he could have been such a foolish boy as he was. You may be quite sure of one thing, that after this Arthur had not such a high opinion of himself, and, as he tried to cure his self-conceit, others had a much higher opinion of him. EDINBURGH: THOMAS AND ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE, PRINTERS TO THE QUEEN, AND TO THE UNIVERSITY. |