At dinner that day Captain Bream paused in the act of conveying a whole
potato to his mouth on the end of his fork, and said--
"Miss Seaward, I'm going to leave you--"
"Leave us!" cried Kate, interrupting him with a look of consternation,
for she and Jessie had both become so fond of the amiable seaman, with
the frame of Goliath and the heart of Samuel, that they were now as much
afraid of losing, as they had formerly been of possessing him. "Leave
us, captain!"
"Only for a time, Miss Kate--only for a time," he replied, hastily, as
he checked the power of further utterance with the potato. "Only for a
time," he repeated, on recovering the power. "You see, I've got a
little bit of business to transact down at Yarmouth, and it will take me
a good while to do it. Some weeks at the least--perhaps some months--
but there's no help for it, for the thing _must_ be done."
The captain said this with so much decision, that Kate could scarcely
forbear laughing as she said--
"Dear me, it must be very important business since you seem so
determined about it. Is there anything or any one likely to oppose you
in transacting the business?"
"Well, not exactly at present," returned the captain blandly, "but there
are two obstinate friends of mine who, I have been told, would oppose me
pretty stoutly if I was to tell 'em all the truth about it."
"Is there any necessity," asked Jessie, "for telling these obstinate
friends anything about the business at all?"
"Well, yes," replied the captain with a chuckle that almost brought on a
choking fit; "I can't well avoid tellin' them somethin' about it, for
they've a right to know, but--"
"Wouldn't it save you all trouble, then," broke in Kate, seeing his
hesitation, "to tell them just as much of the business as they were
entitled to know, and no more."
"That's just the very thing I mean to do," replied the captain, bursting
into a laugh so deep and thunderous that the small domestic, Liffie Lee,
entered the room abruptly to ask if anything was wanted, but in reality
to find out what all the fun was about. Having been dismissed with a
caution not to intrude again till rung for, the captain helped himself
to an enormous slice of beef; earnestly, but unsuccessfully, pressed the
sisters to "go in for more and grow fat," and then continued his
discourse.
"You must know, ladies, that I have taken to studyin' a good deal in my
old age. Another potato--thank 'ee."
"Yes, we have observed that," said Kate. "May I ask what is the nature
of your studies--navigation?"
"Navigation!" shouted the captain with another laugh so rich and racy
that poor Liffie Lee almost entered in defiance of orders; "no, Miss
Kate, it ain't navigation! I've bin pretty well grounded in that
subject for the last forty years. No, my study _now_ is theology."
"Theology!" exclaimed the sisters in surprise.
"Yes, theology. Is it so strange, then, that a man drawin' near the
close of life should wish to be more particular than when he was young
in tryin' to find out all he can about his Maker?" returned the captain
gravely.
"Forgive us," said Jessie, hastening to explain; "it is not that. If
you had said you had taken to reading the Bible carefully and
systematically, we would not have been surprised, but it--it was--your
talking so quietly about theology that made us--"
"Yes, yes, I see," interrupted the good-natured seaman; "well, it _is_
reading the Word of God that I mean. You see, I regard the Bible as my
class-book, my book o' logarithms, chart compass, rudder, etcetera, all
rolled into one. Now, I don't mind tellin' you a secret. When I first
went to sea I was a very wild harum-scarum young fellow, an' havin' some
sort of influence over my mates, I did 'em a deal of damage and led 'em
astray. Well, when the Lord in His great mercy saved my soul, I could
not forget this, and although I knew I was forgiven, my heart was
grieved to think of the mischief I had done. I felt as if I would give
anything in life to undo it if I could. As this was not possible,
however, I bethought me that the next best thing would be to do as much
good as I could to the class that I had damaged, so, when I came home
and left the sea for good, I used to go down about the docks and give
away Bibles and Testaments to the sailors. Then I got to say a word or
two to 'em now and then about their souls but I soon found that there
are professed unbelievers among the tars, an' they put questions that
puzzled me at times, so I took to readin' the Bible with a view to
answering objectors an' bein' able to give a reason of the hope that is
in me--to studyin', in fact, what I call theology. But I ain't above
takin' help," continued the captain with a modest look, "from ordinary
good books when I come across 'em--my chief difficulty bein', to find
out what are the best books to consult, and this has led me sometimes to
think of buyin' up all the theological books I can lay hands on, an'
glancin' 'em all through so as to make notes of such as seemed worth
readin' with care. The labour however seems so great, that up to now
I've bin kept back, but I've had a talk with a friend to-day which has
decided me, so I'll go off to Yarmouth to-morrow an' buy a whole lot o'
theological books--a regular library in fact--and set to work to read
up. But there's one thing I would like, which would save me an enormous
amount o' labour, if I could get it."
"What is that?" asked the sisters, eagerly, and in the same breath, for
they had become quite interested in their friend's aspirations.
"I would like," said the captain, slowly, and fixing his eyes on his
plate, for he was now beginning to scheme, "I would like to find some
one--a clever boy perhaps, though a girl would be preferable--who would
take the trouble off my hands of glancin' through the books first, an'
makin' notes of their contents for me, so as to prevent my wastin' time
on those that are worthless."
"I fear," said Jessie, "that few boys or girls would be capable of such
work, for it would require not only intelligence but a considerable
amount of scriptural knowledge."
The captain heaved a deep sigh. "Yes," he said, shaking his head
slowly, "you're right, and I'm afraid I'll have to get some grown-up
person to help me, but that won't be easy. And then, d'ee know, I don't
feel as if I could git on in such investigations with a stranger."
"What a pity," said Kate, "that you could not bring the books here, and
then _I_ could help you, for although I do not pretend to be deeply
learned in scriptural knowledge, I daresay I know enough for your
purpose; but why not get the books in London? Is there any necessity
for buying them in Yarmouth?"
Poor Captain Bream was so unused to scheming, that he had made no
preparation for such a question, and felt much confused. He could give
no good reason for making his purchase in Yarmouth, and nothing would
have induced him to tell a falsehood.
"Well, really," he said, after a few moments' hesitation, "there are
circumstances sometimes in a man's life which render it difficult for
him to explain things, but--but I _have_ a reason for wishin' to buy
this library in Yarmouth, an' it seems to me a good one. Besides, I've
got a likin' for sea-air, bein' my native air, so to speak, and I've no
doubt that theology would come more easy to me if I was in a snug little
room facin' the sea, where I could see the blue waters dancin', an' the
shipping go by, an' the youngsters playin' on the sands. Yes, it _must_
be done at Yarmouth. London would never do; it's too hot an' stuffy.
Not that I care for that, but then you might--ah--that is--I mean to
say--you might agree with me on this point if you were there. But why,"
he added with fresh animation as he saw the way opening up before him,
"why, Miss Kate, since you are so kind as to say you'd like to help me,
why might you not take a run down to Yarmouth with me, an' help me
there?"
"Because," answered Kate, laughing, "I could not very well leave my
sister alone."
"Of course not--quite right, but there's no need for that; she could
come too, and it would do you both much good, not to speak o' the
_immense_ advantage to me! I do assure you I'd feel well-nigh as
helpless as an infant, if left to tackle this business alone."
From this point there began a regular skirmish between the captain and
the sisters; the one trying to convince the others that it would be
doing him a favour for which he could never find words to thank them,
and the others endeavouring to show by every sort of argument that the
thing was utterly unpossible, that the captain little knew what a burden
he proposed to take on his shoulders, and that there was no use whatever
in talking about it.
But Captain Bream was a man of resolution. He stuck to his point and
pleaded his own cause so powerfully that the sisters began to waver.
"But think," urged Kate, who did the most of the fighting, "you forget
Liffie Lee. She is no longer a mere visitor for an hour or two of a
morning, as she used to be, but a regular hired servant and we could not
leave her behind."
"I know that. It was my coming that made you hire her; and, now I think
of it, I've a right to claim at least part of her, so she can come too,
an' we'll lock up the house an' get Mr Green-grocer to look after it--
air it now and then. Come, just make up your minds. Only think, how
beautiful the blue sea will be just now, an' the sunny skies, an' the
yellow sands--I declare it makes me long to go. An' then you'll see
that pretty boy you've taken such a fancy to--what's 'is name?"
"Billy Bright," said Kate.
"Just so--Billy Bright--though I can't say that I'm over fond o' pretty
little boys. They're too often soft an'--"
"But I tell you he's as bold as a lion, and wise as a man, and tough
as--as--"
"As a beefsteak," said the captain; "yes, yes, I know all that, and I'm
quite prepared to believe that he is an exception. Well, now, it's
agreed to--is it?"
But the sisters did not at once give in. They fought on with true
feminine courage until the captain tried the effect of deep dejection
and innocent submission, when their tender hearts could stand out no
longer, and, hauling down their colours, they finally agreed to become
librarians and accompany their lodger to Yarmouth.
Then the captain left them to report the victory to his commodore, Ruth
Dotropy.
"I never had such a battle in my life!" he said to that scheming young
creature. "They didn't give in till they'd fired off every shot in
their locker. Trafalgar and the Nile were nothin' to it."
"But do you really mean to say," asked Ruth, who could hardly speak at
first for laughing, "that you intend to buy all these theological books
and set the sisters to work?"
"To be sure I do. You didn't suppose that I was goin' to tell a parcel
o' lies to help out your schemes, my dear? It has been for some months
past simmerin' in my brain that I ought to go through a small course of
education in that line. And all you have done for me is to make me go
in for it somewhat sooner, and a little heavier than I had intended in
the way of books. And there's no doubt I'll study better at the
sea-side than in London. Besides, I shall have the fishermen to try the
effects of my studies on, and you may be sure I won't let the poor
things work too hard at the books."
"I'll trust you for that," said Ruth.
Now, while these little plans were being arranged, an event was pending
in the North Sea fleet which merits particular notice.