Brother and I saw our home, with father, mother and John standing in the
door. We waved to them; they saw and answered. Our boat was landed;
father and John were there to meet us with other friends. I could
scarcely wait for the gang plank to be put out. Ah well, the home
coming was almost worth the waiting for. As soon as I had greeted father
and John I ran up the dock for home, my little dog chasing after me. I
met Mr. Cable hurrying down. As I ran past without stopping, he said,
"Aren't you going to shake hands?" "Oh yes, but I am in such a hurry to
get home," I answered. Oh the joy to be once more at home! I took both
hands and dashed the water up into my face as I ran along the shore to
our house. The sound of the waves seemed welcoming me home. I looked
back once toward the boat and saw father with Elizabeth and the rest
coming. I ran almost breathless into the house saying, "Mother I have
come home." She hurried toward me saying. "Charley." Then she caught at
the back of a chair. Her face was so pale I thought she would fall, and
I gave her water to drink. She kissed me with her eyes full of tears. I
whispered, "No, Charley has not come."
The rest came in. Mr. Crane's people were to stay with us until their
house was ready. We were a happy family around our table at supper time.
I was now home and yet there was a sadness about it. We were not all
together as we once had been. Father and mother had grown thin and pale.
John said he could never tell how much we children had been missed. He
had read his books, sung his songs and told his stories to pass away the
winter evenings, and they had all worried much about the Michigan,
knowing that we were out in that terrible storm when we left in the
fall. I was busy for a few days visiting our neighbors and telling them
about my trip and where I had been. My little friend Rose and her mother
were glad to see me, as I could tell them about their people on the
Headlands. Their Aunt Mary Snell and Cousins Andrus, Alva and the rest.
There was a sweet little babe at Cable's. They called her Cora, and I
was so glad, because now I could help take care of her. Somehow life had
changed. Before going away the world did not seem to reach out very far
beyond our island home, now it began to seem like a great big world to
me, and many were the questions I asked John, which he was always glad
to answer. Once I said, "John were you ever homesick?" After a minute he
answered, "Yes, sometimes." I said, "I know what homesick means now."