"And the other little girl, is she a relation? for I have no difficulty
in distinguishing which is my niece."
"No; she is Captain Davenport's daughter," I answered.
"A nice, pretty little girl. But Emily--I must see Emily again."
I ran to call her. She came down trembling; for she had often heard our
mother speak of our uncle, and for her sake had longed to see him. Mr
Sedgwick pressed her fondly in his arms.
"Yes, you are the very image of your mother," he said, looking in her
face again and again.
Thus, for some time, we sat talking of the past, rather than the
present.
"Well, Hooker!" he exclaimed at last, "I wish you were on shore. We
must see how you are by to-morrow or next day; and, in the meantime, we
must get these young people and their worthy nurse to come to my house
and see my wonders. I can easily manage to find accommodation for them;
for I built it originally in the expectation of having some companions.
Walter, you will accompany them, as I suppose, Hooker, you can spare
him?"
"I have no doubt my skipper can do without him," answered Mr Hooker;
"though, I can tell you, he is of no little importance on board, as he
acts the part of mate; and a very good seaman he is, too, for his age,
and the time he has been at sea."
I asked Mr Hooker if Oliver could accompany us, as I knew he could be
spared. "And Merlin too. The old fellow will like a run on shore; and
you will let him come also," I said, turning to my uncle.
"He looks too wise an animal to quarrel with any of my friends," he
observed; "and I shall be very glad to see him."
Frau Ursula and the young ladies quickly got ready a few things to take
on shore. Evening was approaching. However, the old friends had a good
deal to talk about before we shoved off. In a short time, we were
pretty well at our ease with Mr Sedgwick; and the girls looked forward
with delight to the wonders they hoped to see on the island.
We landed at a rather more convenient spot, which Mr Sedgwick pointed
out. Roger Trew, who had leave to remain on shore, assisted in carrying
up the beds for the ladies; while Oliver and I took charge of the other
articles they required. The boat then pulled back to the brig. The
moment Merlin landed he scampered off along the shore, bounding and
gambolling just like a young dog, so delighted did he appear to be able
to stretch his legs. He then came up to me, and licking my hand,
followed close at my heels.
"I do not quite like the look of the weather," observed Mr Sedgwick,
glancing back at the sea. "I wish I had told them on board the brig to
get out another anchor; or it might have been safer, to be sure, to
stand out into the offing. Stay; there will be no harm in giving them a
caution."
He went back to the beach and hailed; but the boat was already at a
considerable distance, and Tarbox did not appear to hear him.
"Well, I hope it is all right," he observed. "I have often seen this
weather, and nothing has come of it. At the same time, it generally
looks like this just before a heavy gale; and this open bay is not a
good place for a vessel to be caught in when it blows hard."