he seems a bit better, I think, this afternoon; he hasn't cried so much,
has he, Polly?'

But I saw there were tears in his eyes as he gave the boy to his mother.

'I'll walk with you to the shore, Duncan,' I said, for I saw that the
poor fellow was very downcast.

'Thank you kindly, sir,' he answered.

I stood on the shore whilst the nets and fishing tackle were put on
board, then he said in a low voice,--

'It's a comfort to feel you will be near my poor lass to-night, sir. It
cuts me to the heart to leave her; if anything happens to little John,
whatever would me and my missus do! But the Lord knows, sir--He knows,'
he repeated, and he wiped away a tear which fell on my hand as he
grasped it.

I went back to Duncan's house, to find the doctor there. It was
influenza and pneumonia, he said, and the boy must be kept in one room.
He was a very silent man, and whether he thought it was a serious case
or not I could not discover.

I determined not to go to bed that night, but to sit up in my room, in
case I should be of any use. I was really glad of the quiet time for
thought and prayer.

I am ashamed to confess that I had brought no Bible with me to Runswick
Bay; I had not opened a Bible for years. But when all was quiet in the