"My brave soldier! I know you are. But you're going to be the help and
standby of us all till father comes home. I'll bake the potatoes to-day,
you like them so, and you may have a wee bit of baby's milk to eat with
them."

This appeal was not lost. The boy straightened up proudly. "Well, give
me the goose," he said resolutely; "I'll take it to Mrs. Norris. I saw
company driving up as I came by, so I guess she'd like it."

Molly made no remonstrance to this, except to draw down her round face
to a doleful length, and drawl out a ridiculous wail common among the
sailors,--

"'I'm bound away to leave you--
Good-by, my love, good-by!
I never will deceive you
No never, Mary Ann!'"

which she pointed by giving the stiffened foot of the defunct goose a
last fond shake in farewell. So it was with laughter and good feeling,
after all, that their dinner for that day was renounced.

But the little episode had given each a spirit of self-sacrifice, which
was to help them through many hard times, while it had put an idea into
Morton's head that he was not slow to act upon.

As soon as he had disposed of his goose to Mrs. Norris (who snapped it
up eagerly, and paid him well, its opportune arrival saving her the
great mortification of giving her friends a fish dinner), he sought out
old Adam Standish, the acknowledged sportsman of the village.