As soon as the boat grates on the shallows, two small bare-legged
urchins rush forward to help Miss Jocelyn to land. But Bee, active and
fearless, needs no aid at all, and reaches the pebbled beach with a
light spring.
"Is tea nearly ready, Bob?" she asks, addressing the elder lad, who
grins with delight from ear to ear.
"Yes, miss."
"And has your mother got an immense lobster, and a big crab, and heaps
of prawns?"
"Yes, miss; whoppers, all of 'em."
"That's right; the sea does give us such appetites, doesn't it, Empey? I
hope the others will be here soon."
"If they don't make haste they'll find only the shell of the lobster,"
he answers, joining her on the shore. "I shall never be able to control
myself if I take one look at him!"
"Then don't look at him, greedy!" she cries, clapping her hands, and
dancing round and round him, while the fisherman's children stare at her
wonderful golden locks. "I didn't forget your weakness for lobster; Aunt
Hetty said I might arrange it all; and we shall have a splendid tea!"
He looks at her with his quiet smile, half amused, wholly loving.
"Don't be whirling like a Dervish, and making yourself too hot to eat
anything," he says, putting a stop to her evolutions. "Let's saunter
along the beach, and sit down a bit, my Queen Bee."
It is a bright, glistening beach, strewn with many-coloured pebbles and
stones, brown, yellow, purple, crimson, and snow-white; there are empty
shells in abundance, out of which charming pincushions can be
constructed by skilful fingers; and, best of all, there are little heaps
of delicate sea-weed, capable of being pressed out into tiny tree-like
forms of coral-pink. Altogether, this strip of shore is a very treasury
for children, and Bee can never come here without wanting to load her
own pockets and everybody else's with heavy spoils.
Claude, who has already been presented with seven shell pincushions, a
polished pebble, and three copy-books filled with gummed sea-weed, does
not care to add to this valuable collection of marine treasures. He
arrests the little hand that is making a grasp at a clam, and says
persuasively, "Stop till we come here again, Bee; don't pick up things
this afternoon. It's so jolly to loaf about and do nothing, you know."
She obeys, after casting one regretful glance at that fascinating
scalloped shell; and they stroll on in placid contentment. From this
part of the coast they get a wide ocean outlook, and can gaze far away
to the faint sea-line dissolving into the sky.
How calm it is! Beautiful, infinite sea, suggesting thoughts of voyages
into unknown climes; of delightful secrets, yet unfathomed; of that
enchanting "by-and-by" which is the children's Promised Land! The boy
and girl are quiet for a time, dreaming their tranquil little dreams in
the silence of utter satisfaction, while the waves wash the beach with
the old lulling sound, and the rock-shadows are slowly lengthening on
the sand.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Drake, the fisherman's wife, is busy with her
preparations indoors. The cottage stands in a sheltered nook, a wooden
dwelling, coated with tar, with nets hanging outside its walls, and a
doorstep as white as snow. A few hardy geraniums in pots brighten the
windows, but garden there is and can be none; the pebbly shore must
serve the children as a playground. Rosy cheeks and sound lungs give
proof that the little Drakes are thriving in their seaside home; and the
youngest, a baby of two, lies placidly sucking its thumb on the sunny
beach.
The boat containing Aunt Hetty and her party nears the landing, and just
for one second Claude's brow darkens again. A sturdy lad is pulling
strong strokes, with arms that seem almost as strong as Drake's; and the
lad has a merry brown face and black curly hair, and wears a scarlet cap
set jauntily on his head. It is Tim Crooke, looking provokingly at his
ease among his aristocratic friends, and quite prepared to enjoy
himself.
Aunt Hetty, gentlest and kindest of elderly ladies, is assisted to land
by the clergyman; while Tim takes up Dolly in his strong arms and places
her safely on the shore. And then they all make for the cottage, Bee
lingering in the rear with Claude, and winning him back to good-humour
with a pleading look from the sunny blue eyes.
Surely this tea in the fisherman's kitchen is a banquet fit for the
gods! It is a happy, hungry group that gathers round the deal table;
Bee, doing the honours, pours out tea, and has a great deal of business
on her hands; Aunt Hetty, at the other end of the board, keeps anxious
watch over Dolly, who consumes prawns with frightful rapidity; Tim
Crooke beams on everybody and ministers to the wants of everybody, like
the good-natured fellow that he is. And Claude, true to his unuttered
promise, is kind to Tim in a pleasant, natural way.
At length the meal comes to an end; lobster, prawns, and crab are all
demolished! and the last drop is drained out of the teapot. The party
stroll out of doors, and revel in the cool of the evening air.
How is it that they begin to talk about heroes and heroism? Nobody can
remember afterwards who started the subject; but certain it is that all,
save Dolly, become interested in the conversation, and each has a word
to say. Mr. Carey, the clergyman, is the leading talker; and he talks
well, not priggishly, nor prosily, but speaks the right words in the
right way, and wins the attention of his companions.
"Charles Kingsley has told us," he says, "'that true heroism must
involve self-sacrifice;' it is the highest form of moral beauty. And
it's a good thing when girls and boys fall to thinking about heroes and
heroines; the thinking begets longing to do likewise. What was it that
you were saying last night about your favourite hero, Tim?"
Tim lifts his head, and a rush of colour comes suddenly into his brown
face.
"Jim Bludso is the fellow I like," he says, speaking quickly. "Wasn't it
grand of him to hold the bow of the _Prairie Belle_ against the bank,
while she was burning? The passengers all got off, you know, before the
smoke-stacks fell; only Bludso's life was lost. He let himself be burnt
to save the rest."
"It _was_ grand!" murmurs Bee, drawing a long breath.
"Yes," says Claude, bringing out his words slowly; "but I like Bert
Harte's 'Flynn of Virginia' better still. You see, it was Jim Bludso's
own fault that the steamer caught fire. Nothing would stop him from
running a race with the _Movestar_; and so the _Prairie Belle_ came
tearing along the Mississippi--
"'With a nigger squat on her safety-valve,
And her furnace crammed, rosin and pine!'
Jolly fun it must have been, but anybody could have foretold the end. As
to Flynn, he was working on the Central Pacific Railway with his mate, a
married man, when they found the whole concern giving way. And Flynn set
his back against the wall in the dark drift, and held the timbers that
were ready to fall, and sang out to Jake to run for his wife's sake."
"Oh, that was beautiful!" Bee sighs, with her blue eyes full of tears.
"Flynn was only Flynn, wasn't he? But Jake had got somebody who couldn't
live without him."
"That was just what Flynn felt, he was only Flynn," Claude replies,
pleased that his hero is appreciated. "There was something splendidly
deliberate in his self-sacrifice, don't you think so, sir?" he adds,
turning to Mr. Carey.
"You are quite right," Mr. Carey answers thoughtfully.
Dolly comes running up to the group with shrill cries showing a little
live crab in her small palm. A faint breeze is blowing off the sea, the
west grows golden, and Aunt Hetty rises from her seat on the beach.
"We must be going home now," she says. "Claude, dear boy, will you look
for my shawl?"
Claude obediently goes into the cottage to bring out the wraps; Mr.
Carey hastens off to summon Drake; and Tim finds himself, for a few
seconds, by Bee's side.
"Hasn't it been a lovely afternoon?" she says. "I've been so happy,
haven't you? Oh, Tim, Claude has told me something!"
"Is it a secret?" Tim asks.
"No, he didn't say so. He says it was arranged years ago that he is to
take me out to India, by-and-by. I'm so glad, Tim; I'd go anywhere with
Claude."
The golden glow that shines on Tim's face seems to dazzle him, and he
turns his head away from the speaker.
"I'm glad that you are glad, Bee," he says quietly. And that is all.