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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4d5ca35 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60676 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60676) diff --git a/old/60676-8.txt b/old/60676-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2b35835..0000000 --- a/old/60676-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5528 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Jack the Englishman, by H. Louisa Bedford - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Jack the Englishman - -Author: H. Louisa Bedford - -Illustrator: Wal Paget - -Release Date: November 12, 2019 [EBook #60676] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JACK THE ENGLISHMAN *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: Cover art] - - - - -[Frontispiece: THE BAG BROKE WITH THE FORCE OF THE BLOW. p. 35.] - - - - - JACK, - THE ENGLISHMAN - - BY - - H. LOUISA BEDFORD - - - AUTHOR OF - "HER ONLY SON, ISAAC" "MRS. MERRIMAN'S GODCHILD," ETC. - - - - ILLUSTRATED BY WAL PAGET - - - - LONDON - SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING - CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE - NEW YORK AND TORONTO: THE MACMILLAN CO. - - - - - Printed in Great Britain by Wyman & Sons Ltd., - London, Reading and Fakenham. - - - - - CONTENTS - - CHAPTER - - I. HIS TITLE - II. A CHUM - III. NEW NEIGHBOURS - IV. A BUSH BROTHER - V. A CHURCH OFFICIAL - VI. MINISTERING CHILDREN - VII. A BISHOP'S VISIT - VIII. TWO LEAVE-TAKINGS - IX. A SURPRISE VISIT - X. A BUSH TOUR - XI. A NARROW ESCAPE - XII. GOING HOME - XIII. TWO VENTURES OF HOPE - - - - -JACK, THE ENGLISHMAN - - - -CHAPTER I - -HIS TITLE. - -It was a beautiful spring afternoon in the northern hill districts of -Tasmania. The sky was of a bird's egg blue, which even Italy cannot -rival, and the bold outline of hills which bounded the horizon, bush -clad to the top, showed a still deeper azure blue in an atmosphere -which, clear as the heaven above, had never a suggestion of hardness. -Removed some half-mile from the little township of Wallaroo lay a -farm homestead nestling against the side of the hill, protected -behind by a belt of trees from the keen, strong mountain winds, and -surrounded by a rough wood paling; but the broad verandah in the -front lay open to the sunshine, and even in winter could often be -used as the family dining-room. The garden below it was a mass of -flowers for at least six months in the year, and there was scarcely a -month when there was a total absence of them. - -The house, one-storied and built of wood like all the houses in the -country districts, was in the middle of the home paddock; the drive -up to it little more than a cart track across the field, which was -divided from the farm road which skirted it by a fence of tree -trunks, rough hewn and laid one on the top of the other. A strong -gate guarded the entrance, and on it sat Jack, the Englishman, his -bare, brown feet clinging to one of the lower bars, his firmly set -head thrown back a little on his broad shoulders as he rolled out -"Rule Britannia" from his lusty lungs. Many and various were the -games he had played in the paddock this afternoon, but pretending -things by yourself palls after a time, and Jack had sought his -favourite perch upon the gate and employed the spare interval in -practising the song which father had taught him on the occasion of -his last visit. He must have it quite perfect by the time father -came again. It was that father, an English naval captain, from whom -Jack claimed his title of "Jack, the Englishman," by which he was -universally known in the little township, and yet the little boy, in -his seven years of life, had known no other home than his -grandfather's pretty homestead. - -"But o' course, if father's English, I must be English too. You -can't be different from your father," Jack had said so often that the -neighbours first laughed, and then accepted him at his own valuation, -and gave him the nickname of which he was so proud. - -About the mother who had died when he was born, Jack never troubled -his little head; two figures loomed large upon his childish horizon, -Aunt Betty and father. Aunts and mothers stood about on a level in -Jack's mind; it never suggested itself to him to be envious of the -boys who had mothers instead of aunts, for Aunt Betty wrapped him -round with a love so tender and wholesome, that the want of a mother -had never made itself felt, but father stood first of all in his -childish affection. - -It was more than eight years since Lieutenant Stephens had come out -from England in the man-o'-war which was to represent the English -navy in Australian waters, and at Adelaide he had met Mary Treherne, -a pretty Tasmanian girl, still in her teens, who was visiting -relations there. It was a case of love at first sight with the young -couple, who were married after a very short engagement. Then, whilst -her husband's ship was sent cruising to northern seas, Mary came back -to her parents, and there had given birth to her little son, dying, -poor child, before her devoted husband could get back to her. Since -then Lieutenant Stephens had received his promotion to Captain, and -had occupied some naval post in the Australian Commonwealth, but his -boy, at Betty Treherne's urgent request, had been left at the farm, -where he led as happy and healthful an existence as a child could -have. The eras in his life were his father's visits, which were -often long months apart, and as each arrival was a living joy, so -each departure was grief so sore that it took all little Jack's -manhood not to cry his heart out. - -"Some day--some day," he had said wistfully on the last occasion, -"when I'm a big boy you'll take me with you," and his father had -nodded acquiescence. - -"It's not quite impossible that when I'm called back to England, I -may take you over with me and put you to school there, but that is in -the far future." - -"How far?" Jack asked eagerly. - -"That's more than I can tell; years hence very likely." - -But even that distant hope relieved the tension of the big knot in -Jack's throat, and made him smile bravely as father climbed to the -top of the crazy coach that was to carry him to the station some -eight miles away. - -From that time forward, Jack insisted that Aunt Betty should measure -him every month to see if he had grown a little. - -"Why are you in such a hurry to grow up?" she asked, smiling at him -one day. "You won't seem like my little boy any more when you get -into trousers." - -"But I shall be father's big boy," was the quick rejoinder, "and -he'll take me with him to England when he goes. Did he tell you?" - -Aunt Betty drew a hard breath, and paled a little. - -"That can't be for years and years," she said decidedly. - -"He said when I'm big, so I want to grow big in a hurry," went on -Jack, all unconscious how his frank outspokenness cut his aunt like a -knife. Then he turned and saw tears in her pretty eyes, and flew to -kiss them away. - -"But why are you crying, Aunt Betty? I've not been a naughty boy," -he said, reminiscent that on the occasion of his one and only lie, -the enormity of his sin had been brought home to him by the fact that -Aunt Betty had cried. - -She stooped and kissed him now with a little smile. - -"I shan't like the day when you go away with father." - -"But o' course you'll come along with us," he said, as a kind of -happy afterthought, and there they both left it. - -And now Aunt Betty's clear voice came calling down the paddock. - -"Jack, Jack, it's time you came in to get tidy for tea," but Jack's -head was bent a little forward, his eyes were intently fixed upon a -man's figure that came walking swiftly and strongly up the green lane -from the township, and with a shrill whoop of triumph he sprang from -his perch, and went bounding towards the newcomer. - -"Aunt Betty, Aunt Betty," he flung back over his shoulder, "it's -father, father come to see me," and the next minute he was folded -close to the captain's breast, and lifted on to his shoulder, a -little boy all grubby with his play, but as happy and joyful as any -child in the island. - -And across the paddock came Aunt Betty, fresh as the spring day in -her blue print gown, and advancing more slowly behind came Mr. and -Mrs. Treherne. - -"A surprise visit, Father Jack, but none the less a welcome one," -said Mr. Treherne. He was a typical Tasmanian farmer with his rough -clothes and slouch hat, but a kindly contentment shone out of his -true blue eyes, and he had an almost patriarchal simplicity of -manner. He bore a high name in all the country-side for uprightness -of character, and was any neighbour in trouble Treherne was the man -to turn to for counsel and help. And his wife was a help-meet -indeed, a bustling active little woman, who made light of reverses -and much of every joy. The loss of her eldest daughter had been the -sharpest of her sorrows, and the gradual drifting of her four sons to -different parts of the colony where competition was keener and money -made faster than in "sleepy hollow," as Tasmania is nicknamed by the -bustling Australians. There was only one left now to help father -with the farm, Ted and Betty out of a family of seven! - -But still Mrs. Treherne asserted confidently that the joys of life -far outweighed its sorrows. Perfectly happy in her own married life, -her heart had gone out in tenderest pity to the young Lieutenant so -early left a widower, and a deep bond of affection existed between -the two. She took one of his hands between her own, and beamed -welcome upon him. - -"It's good luck that brings you again so soon." - -"It's a matter of business that I've come to talk over with you all, -but it can wait until after supper. I'm as hungry as a hunter. I -came straight on from Burnie without waiting to get a meal." - -"If you had wired, you should have had a clean son to welcome you," -said Betty. "Climb down, Jack, and come with me and be scrubbed. -Don't wait for us, mother. The tea is all ready to come in." - -Jack chattered away in wildest excitement whilst Aunt Betty scrubbed -and combed, but Betty's heart was thumping painfully, and she -answered the boy at random, wondering greatly if the business Father -Jack talked about implied a visit to England, and whether he would -want to take his little son with him. - -"He has the right! of course he has the right," she thought. "Aunts -are only useful to fill up gaps," and her arms closed round little -Jack with a yearning hug. - -"There! now you're a son to be proud of, such a nice clean little boy -smelling of starch and soap," she said merrily, with a final -adjustment of the tie of his white sailor suit, and they went down to -tea hand in hand, to tea laid in the verandah, with a glimpse in the -west of the sun sinking towards its setting in a sky barred with -green and purple and gold. - -Little Jack sat by his father, listening to every word he said, and -directly tea was ended climbed again on to his knee and imperatively -demanded a story. It was the regular routine when Father Jack paid a -visit. - -"And what is it to be?" asked the captain - -"Why, Jack, the Giant Killer, or Jack and the Beanstalk. I love the -stories about Jacks best of all, because Aunt Betty says the Jacks -are the people who do things, and she says you and all the brave -sailors are called Jack Tars, and that I'm to grow up big and brave -like you, father." - -The Captain's arm tightened round his son. - -"It's very kind of Aunt Betty to say such good things about the Jacks -of the world. We must try and deserve them, you and I. Well, now, -I'm going to tell you a sort of new version of Jack, the Giant -Killer." - -"What's a new version?" asked Jack, distrustfully. - -"The same sort of story told in a different way, and mine is a true -story." - -"Is it written down in a book? Has it got pictures?" - -"Not yet; I expect it will get written down some day when it's -finished." - -"It isn't finished," cried Jack in real disappointment. - -"Wait and listen--There was once a man----" - -"Oh, it's all wrong," said Jack impatiently. "It's a boy in the -_real_ story." - -"Didn't I tell you mine was a new version? Now listen and don't -interrupt----" - -Mr. Treherne leant back in his chair, listening with a smile to the -argument between father and son as he smoked his pipe; Mrs. Treherne -had gone off into the house, whilst Betty, after setting the table -afresh for Ted who would be late that evening as he was bringing home -a mob of cattle, seated herself in the shadow, where she could watch -the Captain and Jack without interruption. - -"There was once a man," began the Captain over again, "who looked -round the world, and noticed what a lot of giants had been conquered, -and wondered within himself what was left for him to do." - -"No giants he could kill?" asked Jack excitedly, "Were those others -all deaded?" - -"Not deaded; they were caught and held in bondage, made to serve -their masters, which was ever so much better than killing them." - -"What were their names?" - -"Water was the name of one of them." - -Jack stirred uneasily. "Now you're greening me, father"--the term -was Uncle Ted's. - -The Captain laughed. "Didn't I tell you this was a true story? -Water was so big a giant that for years and years men looked at it, -and did not try to do much with it. The great big seas----" - -"I know them," cried Jack. "Aunt Betty shows them to me on the map, -and we go long voyages in the puff-puff steamers nearly every day!" - -"Ah! I was just coming to that. At first men hollowed out boats out -of tree trunks, and rowed about in them, timidly keeping close to the -shore, and then, as the years rolled on, they grew braver, and said: -'There's another giant that will help us in our fight with water. -Let us try and catch the wind.' So they built bigger boats, with -sails to them which caught the wind and moved the ships along without -any rowing, and for many, many years men were very proud of their two -great captive giants, water and wind, and they discovered many new -countries with their wind-driven ships, and were happy. But very -often the wind failed them, grew sulky, and would not blow, and then -the ship lay quiet in the midst of the ocean; or the wind was angry, -and blew too strong--giants are dangerous when they lose their -temper--and many a stately ship was upset by the fury of the wind, -and sent to the bottom. Then men began to think very seriously what -giant they could conquer that would help them to make the wind more -obedient to their will, so they called in fire to their aid. Fire, -properly applied, turned water into steam, and men found that not -only ships, but nearly everything in the world could be worked -through the help of steam." - -Jack was getting wildly interested in the new version. "Oh, but I -_know_," he said, clapping his hands. "There's trains, and there's -steam rollers; I love it when they come up here, and there's an -engine comes along and goes from farm to farm for the threshing, and -that's jolly fun for the threshers all come to dinner, and----" - -"Yes, I see you know a lot about these captive giants after all," -said the Captain, bringing him back to the point. - -"Go on, please; it's just like a game," said Jack. "Perhaps I'll -find out some more." - -"I can't go on much longer. It would take me all night to tell you -of all the giants we keep hard at work. Three are enough to think of -at a time. Tell me their names again for fear you should forget." - -"Water--one. Wind--two, and Fire, that makes steam--three," said -Jack, counting them off, as he rehearsed them on his father's -fingers. "Just one more, daddy dear," a phrase he reserved for very -big requests. - -"One more then, and away you go to bed, for I see Aunt Betty looking -at her watch. The last giant that the man of the story very much -wishes to conquer, and has not done it yet, is air. He wants to -travel in the air faster than any train or steamship will take you by -land or water." - -"Like my new toy, the one grandmother sent for on my birthday seven. -She sent for it all the way to Melbourne, an 'airyplane' she calls -it, but it only goes just across the room, and then comes flop." - -"That's just it; at present flying in the air too often ends in flop, -and this man I'm talking of wants to help to discover something that -will make flying in the air safer and surer. There are lots of men -all over the world trying to do the same thing. All the giants I -have told you of are too big and strong for one man to grapple with -by himself, but many men joined together will do it, and the man of -the story has been working at it by himself for years, and at -last--at last he thinks he has discovered something that will be of -service to airmen and to his country, and he's going over to England -to test it--to see if his discovery is really as good as he believes -it to be." - -Little Jack sat grave and very quiet, pondering deeply. - -"What's the man's name, father? The man you're telling about." - -"Jack, a Jack who will be well content if he can help to do something -big in conquering the giant Air. It's your father who is the man of -the story. I promised it should be a true one." - -Jack's answer seemed a little irrelevant. He slipped from his -father's knee and took his hand, trying with all his might to pull -him up from his chair. "Come, father, come quick and see how big -I've grown. Aunt Betty measures me every month, and says I'm quite a -big boy for my age." - -Wondering at the sudden change of subject, the Captain humoured his -little son, and allowed himself to be dragged to the hall where, -against the doorpost of one of the rooms, Jack's height was duly -marked with a red pencil. - -"Aunt Betty's right. You're quite a big boy for only seven years -old." - -"I knewed it," cried Jack, in rapturous exultation, "so you'll take -me along with you, dear, and we'll hit at that old giant Air -together. Oh, I'm so glad, so glad to be big." - -"Not so fast, sonny," said the Captain, gently gathering him again -into his arms. "You're a big boy for seven years old, but you're -altogether too young for me to take you to England yet." - -Jack's face went white as the sailor suit he wore, and his great -round eyes filled to the brim with tears, but by vigorous blinking he -prevented them from falling down his cheeks. - -"You said--perhaps when I was big you'd take me with you." - -"And that will be some years hence when I'll come back to fetch you, -please God." - -"Me and Aunt Betty, too," said Jack, with a little catch in his -throat, "'cause she'll cry if I leave her." - -"Jack, it's bedtime, and you will never go to sleep if you get so -excited," said Aunt Betty decidedly, feeling all future plans swamped -into nothingness by the greatness of the news Father Jack had come to -tell. - -"Look here, I'll carry you pig-a-back," said the Captain, dropping on -to all fours. "Climb up and hold fast, for the pig feels frisky -to-night, and I can't quite tell what may happen." So Jack went off -to his cot in Aunt Betty's room in triumph and screams of laughter, -but the laughter gave way to tears when bathed and night-gowned he -knelt by Aunt Betty's side to say his prayers. The list of people -God was asked to bless was quite a long one, including various -friends of Jack's in the township, but last of all to-night came his -father's name. - -"God bless Father Jack, and make Little Jack a good boy and very big, -please, dear God, so as he'll soon have father to fetch him home." - -And then, with choking sobs, Jack sprang to his feet and into bed. - -"Tuck me in tight, Aunt Betty, and don't kiss me, please. I'll tuck -my head under the clothes, and don't tell father I'm crying. It's -only little boys who cry, he says, and I want to be big, ever so big. -I'll grow now, shan't I? Now I've asked God about it." - -Aunt Betty's only answer was a reassuring pat on his back as she -tucked the bedclothes round him. Truth to tell she was crying a -little too. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -A CHUM - -"You've sprung it upon us rather suddenly, Jack." - -Betty and her brother-in-law sat in the verandah in the glory of the -Tasmanian night. The stars shone out like lamps from the dark vault -above with a brilliancy unknown in our cloudier atmosphere; a -wonderful silence rested on the land, except that at long intervals a -wind came sighing from the bush-clad hills, precursor of the strong -breeze, sometimes reaching the force of a gale, that often springs up -with the rising of the sun. - -Jack removed his pipe and let it die out before he answered Betty. - -"To you I expect it may seem a fad, the result of a sudden impulse, -but really I've been working towards this end ever since aviation has -been mooted, spending all my spare time and thought upon the -perfecting of a notion too entirely technical to explain to anyone -who does not understand aeroplanes. Finally I sent over my invention -to an expert in the Admiralty, with the result that I've received my -recall, and am to work it out. There is no question that at this -juncture, when all nations are hurrying to get their air fleet -afloat, we are singularly behindhand, and I feel the best service I -can give my country is to help, in however small a degree, to -retrieve our mistake." - -"You don't really think England is in peril, do you?" - -"The unready man is always in peril, and England is singularly -unready for any emergency at the present time. I believe with some -men the call of country is the strongest passion in their blood. For -a moment the thought of leaving the little lad staggered me, for, of -course, he's altogether too young to think of taking him with me. -Nobody would mother him as you are doing, Betty. I would like him to -be with you for some years longer yet, if you agree to continue -taking charge of him." - -"But of course," said Betty, with a little catch in her throat. "He -is my greatest joy in life. I dread the time when I must let him go." - -"Thank you; I want to leave him here as long as possible until it -becomes a question of education. Of course I would like if he shows -any inclination that way that he should follow in my footsteps, -either serve in the navy or in the air fleet." - -Betty gave a little gasp. "But the peril, Jack! Think of the lives -that have been already sacrificed." - -Jack shrugged his shoulders. "By the time the boy is old enough to -think of a profession, I don't suppose aviation will be much more -dangerous than any other calling that is distinctly combative in -character, and if it is, I hope my son will be brave enough to face -it. However, what Jack will be or do when he grows up is too far a -cry to discuss seriously." - -"And meanwhile what do you want me to do with him?" - -"Just what you are doing now. Bring him up to fear God and honour -the King." - -"And when education presses? I can teach him to read and write and a -little arithmetic, but when he ought to go further? Am I to send him -away to a boarding school?" - -"I think not, Betty. I would almost rather you let him go to the -State school here, and kept him under your own eye. I don't believe -association during school hours with all and sundry will hurt him -whilst he has you to come back to, and the teaching at some of these -schools is far more practical and useful than at many a preparatory -school at home. What can you tell me of the master here?" - -"He's rather above the average, and if he finds a boy interested in -his work is often willing to give him a helping hand. For one thing, -I don't believe Jack will ever want to be much off the place out of -school hours. He's a manly little chap, and loves being about with -Ted or father on the farm. I wish sometimes he had some chum of his -own, a little brother, or what would be almost as good--a little -sister. His play is too solitary." - -"I'm afraid it's out of your power or mine to cure that," said the -Captain, rather sadly, his thoughts going back to the pretty wife who -had been his for so short a time. - -When little Jack appeared at breakfast the following morning there -was no sign of the previous night's emotion, but he was quite -inseparable from his father that day, never leaving his side for an -instant if he could help it. He was much graver than usual, intent -upon watching the Captain's every movement, even adjusting his own -little shoulders to exactly the same angle as his father's, and -adopting a suspicion of roll in his walk. - -The Captain was to leave by the evening coach, and Betty catching the -wistful look in little Jack's eyes suggested that he should be the -one to escort the Captain down the green lane to the hotel in the -township from which the coach started. Jack, holding his father's -hand tight gripped in his own, scarcely uttered a word as they walked -off together. He held his head high and swallowed the uncomfortable -knot in his throat. Not again would he disgrace his manhood by -breaking into tears. - -"I'll be _real_ big when you come next time," he ventured at last. -"Will it be soon?" - -"As soon as I can make it, Jackie. Meanwhile you'll be good and do -as Aunt Betty tells you." - -"Yes, sometimes. I can't always," said Jack truthfully. - -"Well, as often as you can. And little or big you'll not forget -you're Jack, the Englishman, who'll speak the truth and be brave and -ready to fight for your country if need be." - -"Yes," said Jack, squaring his shoulders a little. - -"And I'll write to you from every port--Aunt Betty will show you on -the map the ports my ship will touch at--and when I get home I shall -write to you every week." - -That promise brought a smile to Jack's twitching lips. - -"Oh, but that's splendid! A letter all my own every week," he said, -beginning to jump about with excitement at the prospect. - -"Will it have my name written upon the envelope?" - -"Why, yes. How else should the postman know whom it's for? You'll -have to write to me, you know." - -That proposition did not sound quite so delightful, and Jack's -forehead puckered a little. He remembered the daily tussle over his -copy-book. - -"I don't write very well just yet," he said. - -"That will have to be amended, for a letter I must have every week. -Aunt Betty will guide your hand at first, and very soon I hope you -will be able to write me a sentence or two all your own, without Aunt -Betty's help." - -"But what'll I say in a letter?" asked Jack, still distrustful of his -own powers. - -"Just what you would say to me if you were talking as you're talking -now; how you get on with your lessons. If you're a good boy or a bad -one, who you meet, what picnics you have; anything you like. What -interests you will surely interest me." - -The thought that father would still talk to him when he was away kept -Jack steady through the parting, that, and the fact that a young -horse only partially broken in was harnessed to the steady goer who -for months past had been one of the hinder pair of the four-horse -coach, played all manner of pranks at starting; at first declining to -budge at all; then, when the superior force of the three others made -movement necessary, setting his four legs together and letting -himself be dragged along for a few paces, finally breaking into a -wild gallop which was checked by his more sober mates, until at last -finding himself over-matched he dropped into the quick trot of the -other three, fretting and foaming at the mouth, nevertheless, at his -enforced obedience. It was a primitive method of horse-breaking, but -effectual. And so Jack's farewells to his father were diversified by -watching the antics of the unbroken colt, and joining a little in the -laughter of the ring of spectators that had gathered round to see the -fun. But when the final start was made Jack was conscious of the -smarting of unshed tears, rubbed his eyes vigorously with his sturdy -fists and set off home at a smart trot, standing still sometimes and -curvetting a little in imitation of the colt that needed breaking in. - -Betty, who stood waiting for him at the gate of the paddock, ready to -comfort and console, saw him gambolling along like a frisky horse, -and felt her sympathy a little wasted. Children's sorrows are -proverbially evanescent, but she was hardly prepared for Jack to -return in such apparently rollicking spirits from the parting with -his father of indefinite duration. And when he came up to her it was -of the horse and its capering that he told her, mimicking its action -in his own little person: holding back, pelting forwards, trying to -rear, interspersed with vicious side kicks, and finally a wild gallop -which sobered into a trot. - -"That's 'zackly how he went," he said, waiting breathless for Aunt -Betty to catch him up. - -Betty was extremely astonished that Jack made no mention of his -father, but later she understood. Tea was over, and before Jack went -to bed Betty allowed him a quarter of an hour's play at any game he -chose. - -"Would you like to be the frisky horse again, and I will drive you," -she asked, willing to humour his latest whim. - -"No, I'll get my slate and write, only you must help me." - -This was indeed an unexpected development for Jack, and left Betty -speechless. Jack was quick at reading and quite good at counting, -but writing was his particular bug-bear. - -She lifted him on to her lap, and he bent eagerly over the slate on -his knees. - -"Now, what do you want to write," Betty asked, taking his right hand -in her own firm, strong one. - -"A letter--a letter to father. He's going to write to me every week. -How do you begin? He says I must write every week, same as he does." - -"All right! 'My dear Father'--That's the way to begin." - -By the time the "r" was reached Jack lifted a flushed face. - -"It's awful hard work; I'll never do it." - -"Oh, yes we will. We'll write it to-morrow in your copybook. Very -soon it will come quite easy." - -And the wish to conquer made Jack comparatively patient at his -writing the following morning. Lessons over, he turned out into the -paddock as usual to play, but somehow all zest for play had deserted -him. The effort to prove himself a man the day before had a -reaction. Every game, played alone, lost its flavour. Hitherto Jack -had never been conscious of the need of a playmate. His whole being -had been so absorbed in his father that the looking forward to his -visits, the saving up everything to show him and to tell him, had -satisfied him; but to-day, with that father gone, he floated about -like a rudderless boat, fretful and lonely, not able to voice his -vague longing for something to happen! He opened the gate and looked -down the lane. On the opposite side of the lane was a tenantless -house; the half-acre in which it stood had never been brought into -proper cultivation as a garden, but the flowers and shrubs which had -been planted haphazard about it had grown now into tangled confusion, -and Jack, when tired of his own premises, had often run down there, -where, crawling on all-fours through the long grass and shrubs, he -had imagined himself lost in the bush, and great was his joy when -Aunt Betty, not finding him in the home paddock, would come wandering -down the lane, saying in a clear, distinct tone: - -"Now where can that little boy have gone? I'm afraid, I'm dreadfully -afraid, he's lost in the bush! I wonder if it's possible he can have -strayed in here." - -Then her bright head would be thrust over the gate, and each time -Jack was discovered cowering from sight there would be a fresh burst -of rapture on the part of the much-distressed aunt and roars of -delighted laughter from Jack. It was a most favourite game, but he -did not wish to play it to-day. - -Yet he resented it a little that a bullock-wagon was drawn to one -side of the road, the wagon piled high with furniture, which was -being lifted piece by piece into the house. His happy hunting-ground -was to be his no longer, for evidently the house was to be occupied -by a fresh tenant. Dancing to and fro with the men who were unlading -the dray was a little girl, her face entirely hidden by a large -sun-bonnet, and the rest of her little person enveloped in a blue -overall, below which came a pair of sturdy brown legs, scarcely -distinguishable from the tan shoes and socks below. - -Jack's resentment at the thought of losing his playground yielded to -excitement at the prospect of a playmate so close at hand, and he -crept cautiously along his side of the lane to obtain a nearer view -of the new-comer, finally taking a seat against the fence just -opposite the house. It was a minute or two before the little girl -discovered him. When she did she crossed the dividing road and stood -just far enough from him to make a quick retreat to her own premises -if a nearer inspection was unfavourable. It was almost a baby face -that peered out from the bonnet: round apple cheeks, big serious -eyes, and a halo of dark curls that framed the forehead. Her eyes -met Jack's for a moment, then dropped in a sudden attack of shyness, -and she showed signs of running away without speaking. - -"Wait a bit," said Jack. "Can't you tell us your name?" - -The child drew a step nearer. "What's yours?" she said, answering -Jack's question by another. - -"I'm Jack, father's called Jack, too." - -"I'm Eva, but mummy calls me puss. Is that your place?" with a nod -towards Jack's home. - -"Yes, you can come and look at it if you like," and Jack held out a -grubby hand. - -Eva paused, looked up the lane and down it. - -"Mummy only lets me play with nice little boys," she said. - -"All right," said Jack, rising and turning back to go home. That he -was rejected on the score of not being nice enough to play with -puzzled him rather than annoyed. - -There was a hasty scuttle after him as Eva ran to catch him up. - -"Stop, boy! I think you's nice! You's got booful blue eyes!" - -Jack turned, laughing merrily. "You're a funny little kiddie. Do -you want to come, then?" - -Eva nodded gravely, thrusting a confident hand in his. - -"You're old, a lot older than me," she said, admiring the agility -with which Jack climbed the top of the gate and pulled back the iron -fastening to let her through. - -"I'm seven, big for my age, Aunt Betty says, but I want to be a lot -bigger before I'm done with." - -"I'm six next bufday," Eva announced. "I had a bufday last week." - -"Then you're six now." - -Eva shook her head vigorously. "Next bufday, mummy says." - -"Oh, you're only five," said Jack dejectedly. A baby of five was -really too young to play with. - -"Can you play horses?" - -"Yus," suddenly smiling into Jack's face. - -"And cricket?" - -"Kick it, a ball like this," throwing out her little foot. "Yus." - -"Let's see how you run. I'll give you quite a long start, and we'll -see which can get to the house first." - -Eva's stout legs acquitted themselves so well that Jack's esteem and -respect grew by leaps and bounds. - -"You'll do quite well for a chum, after all," he said as he panted up -to her. "Come along and see Aunt Betty." - -Aunt Betty's whereabouts were not difficult to discover. Her song -rose clear and full as a magpie as she busied herself in the dairy -which adjoined the house. The sound of Jack's voice made her turn -from her milk-pans to the doorway which framed him and his little -companion. - -"Why, Jack, who is the little girl?" she asked. - -"Her name is Eva, and I've just settled she shall be my chum," was -the decided answer. - -But Eva, frightened at finding herself quite away from her own -people, threw herself on the doorstep and hid her face in a fit of -sobbing. - -"I won't be nobody's chum! Take me home to mummy," she said. - -Betty's arms closed round her consolingly. - -"So I will directly Jack can tell me where mummy lives," said Betty. -"Come along, Jack, and show me where to take her." - - - - -CHAPTER III - -NEW NEIGHBOURS - -A resolute-looking little woman faced Betty as she crossed the -threshold of the door of the new neighbour. Betty carefully -deposited Eva on one of the boxes which littered the floor and -explained her presence. - -"It was kind of you to bring her back. Pussie has a sad trick of -poking in her nose where she's not wanted," said Eva's mother; but -the child, restored to confidence, raised indignant protest. - -"Boy does want me; he wants me for a chum, mummy, and I think he's -nice! Just look at him." - -Betty watched the grave little face soften into a smile as the eyes -rested first on Eva and then on Jack, who stood shyly in the doorway. - -"We are neighbours, then," she said, ignoring Eva's words. She was -clearly a woman who would commit herself to no promise that she might -not be able to keep. - -"My father, Mr. Treherne, owns the farm close by. Jack is his little -grandson," said Betty simply, "and I'm his only daughter." - -"And my name is Kenyon. Come along, Eva; we'll leave all this alone -until after tea, and when you're in bed I must straighten things a -bit," said Mrs. Kenyon as Betty turned to go. - -The voice was tired, and an English voice. The speaker, still young, -for she certainly was well under thirty, inspired Betty with the -feeling that she had had a hard fight with the world. - -"Won't you come back to supper with us? I know mother will be glad -to see you, and it's hard to get things comfortable on the first -night in a new house." - -"Comfortable!" echoed Mrs. Kenyon, with a note of scorn in her voice. -"It will be days before we can be that. The house has been standing -empty for a long time apparently, and needs soap and water in every -corner of it. I should like to send it to the wash, but as that -can't be done I must wash it myself, every inch of it. I took it -because it was cheap!" - -"Will you come, then," said Betty again. - -"I beg your pardon. You'll think English manners defective, but I'm -so tired I can hardly think of what I'm saying. No, there is so much -to be done I think I will stay here, thanking you all the same for -asking us." So Betty said no more, and taking Jack's hand walked -quickly down the road. Jack chattered all the way about Eva. - -"D'you think she'll be my chum, Aunt Betty?" - -"We'll wait and see, Jackie, and don't be in too great a hurry. -She'll want you all the more if you don't seem too keen to have her," -answered Betty, smiling, giving the little boy his first lesson in -worldly wisdom. - -But the thought of the tired face haunted kind Betty as she sat down -to supper. She told her mother something of the new neighbour. - -"She's such a decided, determined look and manner, mother. She's -been pretty, and she's rather pretty still, only her face has grown -hard, as if she'd had a lot of trouble. She's young to be a widow." - -"What makes you think she's a widow? She did not tell you so." - -"There's no sign of a man about the place; she clearly has to fend -for herself, and to English people it's hard work. They're not -brought up to be useful!" - -Mrs. Treherne laughed. "She's English, then." - -"Yes, she said so, and she's proud and independent; but I think when -Jack is in bed I'll risk the chance of a snub, and go and see what I -can do for her." - -An hour later Betty stood again before Mrs. Kenyon's door. From the -inner room came a sound of singing, and through the half-opened door -Betty caught a glimpse of a little bed that stood in the corner, over -which Mrs. Kenyon bent tenderly soothing Eva to sleep with her soft -lullaby. - -"She has one tender spot in her heart, anyway," thought Betty, giving -a little cough to proclaim her presence. Mrs. Kenyon turned and came -toward her on tip-toe, drawing the door of her bedroom gently to -behind her. - -"Eva was excited and would not go to sleep. I don't generally spoil -her like that, but she's off now as sound as a top." - -"I've come to help you for an hour or two if you will have me." - -Mrs. Kenyon's bright eyes scanned Betty from head to foot. - -"It's not everyone that I could accept help from, but I'll be glad of -it from you." - -So the two worked side by side with a will and with scarcely a word -exchanged between them. They shifted boxes, placed furniture in -temporary safety against the walls, but to Betty fell the lion's -share of the lifting. - -"I don't know how you do it; you're as strong as a man," said Mrs. -Kenyon, subsiding into a chair for a moment's rest. - -"We're made so out here; for one thing we are accustomed to use our -muscles from the moment we can walk. We don't--have our shoes -buttoned up for us," with a sly glance at her companion. - -Mrs. Kenyon gave a short laugh. "Nor have I since I came out here. -Since I married I learned the way to clean them. That's six years -ago, and for three years I've made the child's living and my own. It -has not been a bed of roses. I tried various methods, was lady-help -and so on; but now I'm a dressmaker, and that not only pays better, -but leaves me free to keep a little home of my own. I hope the -people in the township need a dressmaker." - -"Indeed they do if you are willing to work in the house. The only -woman we can get is engaged weeks beforehand, and then as often as -not fails one at the last minute. If you are good I believe you will -hardly have a day free." - -"That's good hearing, but they must accept Eva with me. I can't -leave her, you see. Turn her into the garden and she is as -independent as a puppy. I think I am good at sewing! As a girl at -home I made most of my own gowns and was often asked the name of my -dressmaker. I decided to come here as someone I met told me there -was a good opening." - -Betty's eyes rested thoughtfully on the speaker The dusk gave her -courage to express her thought. - -"I almost wonder you did not go home. You're not really fitted for a -fight with life." - -Mrs. Kenyon's chin lifted. "I chose my lot and will abide by it." - -Betty knew she had been guilty of an impertinence in trying to probe -beneath the surface, and rose to go. - -"You'll go to bed now; you won't try to do anything more when I'm -gone," she pleaded. - -"No, I'll go to bed chiefly because I must." - -"And to-morrow won't be a busy day with me; you'll let me come again?" - -"Surely yes, and thank you for your kindness. It's been more than -manual help; you've heartened me up; you're so splendidly happy. -Your very step has happiness in it. It must be because you're so -strong." - -But there Mrs. Kenyon erred, for Betty's happiness lay rather in the -fact that quite unconsciously she brought happiness to all about her. - -The next morning Jack, sent on a message to the township, sauntered -leisurely past the opposite side of the lane from Eva's home, casting -one furtive glance to see if she were anywhere in sight, and then -conscious of a rosy face flattened against the gate, went on with his -eyes held steadily in front of him. Of course if a little girl did -not want to be a big boy's chum--Jack was too young to finish the -sentiment, but a lump of disappointment rose to his throat and a -sudden impulse made him take to his heels and fly, casting never a -backward look. - -He was not long gone, for Aunt Betty's orders had been peremptory. -She was pressed for time and there must be no loitering by the way. -He saw that Eva had pushed open the gate and was wandering down the -lane towards the entrance to the paddock, a bright spot of colour in -her little red overall. The green road extended beyond Mr. -Treherne's land to another farm some distance further on, and from -the far end of it Jack saw a young bullock trotting in Eva's -direction. Quite used to animals and wholly unafraid of them this -usually would not have been worthy of remark, but he recognised this -animal as dangerous and perfectly unamenable to training. Only -yesterday he had stood by, an excited spectator, whilst his -grandfather and uncle had been assisting their neighbour in his -efforts to bring the bullock into subjection, but it had proved so -wild and vicious that it had been driven into a paddock by itself -until its owner could decide what to do with it. - -"Best get rid of it," Mr. Treherne advised, "get rid of it before it -gets you into trouble. The creature is not safe." - -And Mr. Marks, his neighbour, slept upon the advice and waked in the -morning determined to act upon it, so he and his son after much -difficulty had succeeded in roping the bullock's horns and between -them were going to lead it down to the township to the butcher, but -as the farmer opened the gate which led into the lane he relaxed his -hold for a moment and the bullock broke away and was advancing with -rapid trot and lowered horns towards the tempting spot of colour in -front of it. - -All this Jack took in at a glance and his one thought was Eva's -danger. There was yet some little distance between her and the angry -beast, and he ran rapidly towards her shouting as he ran. - -"Run, Eva, run back home; the bullock isn't safe." - -The child, startled by the call, looked round, saw the animal bearing -down upon her and with a howl of terror turned to fly, but her foot -tripped in a rut and she fell face downwards to the ground, roaring -lustily. There was no time to pick her up and console her so, little -Jack sped past her determined to put his small person between her and -the enemy. Behind he saw the farmer and his son in hot pursuit. A -moment's delay and the danger would be averted, but Jack was far too -young to argue out the matter in cool blood. - -All he felt was the necessity of preventing the bullock from reaching -Eva, and the spirit inherited from his father made him try to shield -her. But the bullock was dashing towards him with lowered horns and -wild eyes, and Jack with the instinct of self-preservation raised his -arms and threw the parcel he carried straight at its forehead; the -bag broke with the force of the blow and the flour it contained came -pothering out, blinding and confusing the angry animal. For a moment -it stayed its onward course, tossing its head to rid itself of the -intolerable dust, and that moment saved the situation, for Farmer -Marks, who had taken a short cut across another paddock, came -bounding over the fence with his stock-whip in hand and with a -tremendous shout and resounding crack of his whip, caused the bullock -to turn back and plunge madly towards the field from which it had -escaped. It was driven into a far corner, and the gate by which it -had escaped was made doubly fast. - -"And this afternoon it must be dealt with if I have to put a bullet -into it," said the farmer to his son, "but upon my word it was a near -shave with the little lad. I never saw a pluckier stand in my life." - -Then he hastened back to see what had happened to Jack, and was -considerably concerned to see Mrs. Kenyon kneeling on the road by his -side, and a grave fear filled him lest, after all, the beast should -have gored the boy; but nothing more serious had occurred than that -Jack, having nerved himself up to the effort of turning the animal -from its course, had suffered from nervous collapse and fainted. -Eva, the danger over, had picked herself up and come trotting towards -him, had caught sight of his closed eyes and white face and had -rushed screaming to the house to fetch her mother, crying that a -great big bull had rushed at Jack and he was deaded, deaded in the -road, which alarming information had brought Mrs. Kenyon at full -speed to the rescue. And there Farmer Marks found her chafing the -boy's hands and trying to restore consciousness. - -"I'll carry him to your place where you can took after him better," -he said, stooping to lift the boy with rough tenderness, and as he -carried him he told the story of Jack's plucky defence of the child -that was smaller than he. - -"You may blame me," he said, "as I should have blamed myself to my -dying day if anything had happened to either of them, but after all -the thing was an accident. I was acting on Treherne's advice and -taking the creature to be put out of harm's way. That it broke from -me so suddenly was scarcely my fault. I can only assure you it won't -happen again." - -"I'm much too thankful a woman to blame anyone," said Mrs. Kenyon, -her bright eyes dimmed with tears. "He's coming to, I think; leave -him to me, and will you let the Trehernes know that he is here and -safe?" - -Jack's eyes opened and he looked round him with a puzzled air. - -"What's happened? Where's Aunt Betty? I'm all wet," he said. - -"It's only a little water I sprinkled on your face," answered Mrs. -Kenyon, seized with an insane desire to laugh. - -Then, moved by a passion of emotion that swept over her like a flood, -she took the little boy in her arms and covered him with kisses. - -Jack struggled for freedom, not best pleased with this outburst of -affection from a stranger. - -"I think, please, now I'll get up and go home to Aunt Betty," he -said, but as he spoke the door opened and Aunt Betty with a halo of -ruffled hair fringing her forehead came towards him, an undefined -fear written in her eyes. - -"Jack, Jack, my darling!" was all she said. - -Jack held out his arms to her, his face all quivering with the relief -of her presence, and to his own great annoyance began to cry. The -shock to his system was finding a natural outlet, and he was the only -person that regretted the tears. - -He was far from feeling a hero as Betty took him home, for Aunt Betty -was always a little vexed with him when he cried. - -"I didn't mean to cry; I didn't really. My head aches and I feel -rather sick. You don't think me a baby, Aunt Betty?" - -Betty's smile was radiant with secret exultation and pride. - -"Not a baby a bit, Jack, but a jolly brave little nipper who can be -trusted to look after any little girl left to his care. Eva will be -chums with you after this you may be quite sure, and Eva's mother -will feel sure that she will come to no harm with you." - -She felt Jack fully deserved this amount of praise, but at the farm -very little more was said about the adventure. - -"I should hate him to be made into a sort of hero though he is one," -she said to Jack's grandmother. "There is not one little boy in a -hundred that would have kept his head and known what to do." - -So Jack went about the rest of the day a little whiter and quieter -than usual, but when night came, and Aunt Betty had tucked him into -bed after hearing him say his prayers, he showed some reluctance to -let her go, and for once she humoured him and sat down by him for a -few minutes. - -"It seems--as if something were rushing at me," he said, half ashamed -to voice his imaginings. - -"There's nothing rushing at you really. It's a trick your tired head -is playing on you," said Betty soothingly. - -"A great big head with horns and eyes that burn," went on Jack, "a -giant's head." - -Betty laughed, such a happy contented laugh. "If a giant at all, -Jack, it was like one of the giants father told you about. You -frightened the big head more than it frightened you. Such a funny -thing to do! to throw a bag of flour at the bullock; throwing dust in -its eyes with a vengeance, and by the time it got over its surprise -it turned round and thought better of it and went back again." - -It all sounded so simple and wholesome, that Jack joined in Aunt -Betty's laughter. - -"It was just because I had nothing else to throw. Do you think -father would say I'd frightened a giant." - -"He might," said Betty guardedly, "but I know what I must say, that -you must go to sleep as quickly as you can. You are a very tired -little boy to-night. Good night, dear boy. I'll leave the door open -so that if that naughty head does not stop aching you can give me a -call." - -"He's not a bit himself to-night; he's just a bundle of nerves. I do -hope it won't make him timid in future," she said a little anxiously -as she rejoined the family in the verandah. - -"Not a bit of it," said her father, taking his pipe from his mouth. -"I can tell you from practical experience it's not a pleasant feeling -to see a creature with horns making a dead set at you. No wonder the -child is upset, but in the morning he'll forget all about it." - -And Mr. Treherne was right. The only lasting effect of little Jack's -adventure was a grave sense of responsibility when he and Eva were -together, for she was a girl to be protected and cared for. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -A BUSH BROTHER - -It was soon an established fact that the children spent most of their -days together, an intimacy that at first was rather a trouble to Mrs. -Kenyon, who felt that from mere force of circumstance she could make -no adequate return for the kindness shown to her little girl at the -farm. Her days were of necessity spent almost entirely from home, as -her expectation of obtaining work was fully justified. For half the -day, either morning or afternoon, Eva would go with her, but the -other half was almost invariably spent with Jack, who was always -lurking near the gate in readiness to carry off his playmate. It was -in vain for Betty to assure her that this was a satisfactory -arrangement for both parties, that before Eva's coming Jack's life -had been a lonely one. - -"It's delightful for the children, but for your people it must be -very often a terrible nuisance; I must think of some way of making -things equal, or it cannot go on," said Mrs. Kenyon, not many weeks -after her coming. - -The opportunity presented itself on the first occasion when Betty -brought a message from her mother, asking if Mrs. Kenyon could -reserve the next week's work for them. - -"Our sewing is all behindhand, and neither mother nor I have anything -fit to put on, but if you will devise, fit, and cut out, and we all -sit at work together, I think a week will see us through the worst of -it." - -"It just happens that I'm free next week, and I'll come gladly--as a -friend, you understand; exchange is no robbery. Think of all you do -for Eva," and Mrs. Kenyon's head lifted with the odd little gesture -that Betty was beginning to interpret as a sign that her decision on -any subject was final. Neither did Betty try at the present time to -combat it. - -But she was not pleased about it. - -"She's too poor to afford to be so independent, mother," she said, -when she went home. - -"My dear, let her have her way. We can make it up to her in many -forms, which she will not detect. Meanwhile one respects that -passionate desire for independence." - -"Do you? Carried too far I think it becomes almost a vice. It -blocks real friendship. I should like to know Mrs. Kenyon's story. -I'm sure she has one." - -"When she wishes you to know it she will tell you," said Betty's -mother placidly. - -The children meanwhile did everything together, or to speak more -accurately, whatever Jack did, Eva, his faithful satellite, tried to -copy. Happiest of all was she when, tired with play, Jack would sit -and tell her stories in which his father played ever a prominent -part, and his title in these stories was always "Father Jack, the -Giant Killer," a name which Eva received with bursts of laughter. - -"I shan't tell you any more if you laugh like that," said Jack one -day. - -Eva stuffed the corner of her pinafore into her mouth to stay her -unseemly merriment. - -"But you don't say all that when you see him. You don't say 'Good -morning, father Jack, the Giant Killer.'" - -"O' course I don't," said Jack with displeased dignity, "but this is -a story about the giants father fights. He really fights giants." - -Eva's eyes rounded in alarm. "Does he k-kill them like your story -says?" - -"No, he catches 'em and makes 'em do what he wants. What do you -think he's catching now?" - -"Goannas," said Eva quickly, whose special terror were the large -lizards called iguanas which occasionally invaded the garden, or that -she and Jack found about the farm and which Jack drove away with -adorable courage. - -Jack gave a contemptuous laugh. "What silly things girls are! This -is a true story I'm telling you. Father catches the air, at least he -rides up in it in a thing called an airy-plane, and he makes the air -help to carry him along." - -It was neither a very lucid nor accurate description of his father's -methods, but it filled his hearer with awe and wonder. - -"Not really!" - -"But yes," reiterated Jack, "and when I'm old enough, I'll ride in an -airy-plane too. Come along; I've told you plenty of stories for -to-day. Let's come and play airy-planes," so round and round the -paddock scampered the children, with arms outspread like wings, arms -which flapped occasionally as the speed became greater to the -accompaniment of a whirring sound intended feebly to imitate the buzz -of a motor bicycle. - -"Faster, faster," cried Jack breathlessly. "Airy-planes flies at an -awful rate," but Eva's fat legs were failing her and her arms fell to -her side with a little gasp like the wheeze of exhausted bellows. - -"Can't--run--no--more," she said, throwing herself on the grass, and -Jack after one more triumphant circle threw himself by her side. - -Leaning over the gate with his arms folded on the top was a man, who -had stood there unperceived, watching the children's play with quiet -amusement. Now as it came to an end he laughed aloud, a kindly -genial laugh. - -"That was really a fine exhibition," he said unlatching the gate and -coming towards them, "and deserves a round of applause," and suiting -the action to the word he clapped his hands together with all his -might. - -Jack sprang to his feet, surveying the stranger with frankly -questioning eyes, but Eva, too exhausted to speak, sat where she was. - -"Did you know what we were playing at? asked Jack. - -"I must confess I heard you naming it. You were pretending to be -aeroplanes, weren't you? but it was so excellent an imitation that I -think I could have guessed. But isn't it rather a tiring game for a -little girl like this?" - -"I don't know; Eva likes to do what I do, don't you, Eva?" - -Eva sat bolt upright and nodded. - -"Your little sister, I expect, and a good deal younger than you?" - -"Not sister; we're chums, that's all, but it's just as good. She's -five, and I'm seven, but I'm big for my age, aren't I?" - -The stranger laughed, and seating himself on the grass, drew Jack -down beside him. - -"Quite big; I thought you might be eight. Having told me this much I -must hear a little more. I'm getting interested. May I hear your -name?" - -"Jack--Jack Stephens; but here they always call me Jack, the -Englishman, 'cause father's a captain in the English Navy." - -"Ah! I felt somehow that we should be friends. Shake hands, Jack, -the Englishman, for I'm an Englishman, too. I've not been long in -the colony," and Jack's small hand was almost lost in the palm of his -new friend. - -"And what does the little girl call herself? I think she has found -breath enough to tell me." - -Eva lifted a round face dimpled with smiles to the questioner. His -deep resonant voice and kindly smile inspired confidence. - -"Eva," she said. - -"And the rest? You must be something besides Eva," but Eva stood -staring at him, not quite understanding the form in which he had put -his question. Jack gave her a little nudge. "Tell him, Eva, that -your mother is Mrs. Kenyon." - -A quick change passed over the face of the listener; the humour of it -resolved itself into an earnest gravity. - -"Kenyon!" he repeated quickly. "It's a name I know something of. Do -father and mother live anywhere near here, Eva? I would rather like -to go and see them, if I might." - -"Haven't no father," said Eva, with a quick shake of the head. -"Never had no father. Mother lives close by." - -"Well, come along, Eva. Just take me to see mother. Perhaps she can -tell me something of the Kenyon I am seeking. Are you called Eva -after mother?" - -Eva laughed and shook her head. "No; mother has a hard name to say. -I can't always say it just right. Cla--Cla----" - -"--rissa," said the strange man, supplying the missing syllables. -"Is mother's Christian name Clarissa?" - -Eva clapped her hands, jumping up and down with excitement. - -"Oh, Jack, he's like the conjurer what tells you things he doesn't -ought to know. Isn't it clever of him to find out mummy's name?" -But Jack was intently watching the stranger's face, wondering greatly -why it twitched as if he were in pain. - -"P'raps he's got the toothache," was his solution of the difficulty, -not knowing that heartache was the trouble. - -"Take me to mummy," said the stranger again, holding out his hand. - -"We've telled you both our names; you've not telled us yours." - -"That will come later; for the present it's enough for you to know -that I'm a bush brother." - -The children exchanged bewildered glances; the explanation threw no -light upon the stranger. - -"We don't know what that means," said Jack, politely. - -"That, too, I must tell you at some other time; but now I must get -Eva to take me home--home to mummy, home to Clarissa Kenyon." - -Greatly wondering, the trio moved towards the gate; but there Jack -halted. Some instinct told him that just now he was not wanted, and -much as he wished to know the end of this strange story, he -determined to go home and wait till he saw Eva again. - -He was a little piqued that his new acquaintance was apparently too -much absorbed in his own thoughts to take any notice of his leaving, -but Eva glanced back with a little nod. - -"I'll be back directly dinner's over, Jack. Does you always walk as -fast as this?" she went on, glancing up at her companion, whose long -stride necessitated a quick trot on her part. - -"When I'm in a hurry, Eva; and I'm in a hurry now," and then, -dropping the little hot hand he held, he broke into a run, for coming -down the lane towards them came Eva's mother, returning from a -morning's work to dinner. - -And then a strange thing happened, for Eva, who stood stock still -with legs set rather far apart, saw mummy give a start backwards as -if half frightened by something, then heard her break into a little -cry, and the next moment she was caught into the stranger's arms and -held tightly to his breast. She did not like such rough treatment! -Eva was certain she did not like it, for mummy, who never cried, was -sobbing with all her might, great big sobs as if she were angry or -hurt. So Eva fled forward, anxious to defend, hammering with all the -might of her young fists upon the assailant's legs. - -"Let go, let go, you wicked, wicked man," she said. "Don't you see -you are hurting my mummy and making her cry? Let go, I say," and the -man did let go, smiling down at the child with eyes that were full of -tears. - -"You can ask mummy for yourself if I've hurt or made her glad," he -said very gently. - -"Hush, Eva, hush," said Mrs. Kenyon, taking her little daughter by -the hand. "You don't understand that I'm crying because I'm -glad--gladder than I've been for many a year, so glad that it makes -me cry; and all because my brother, your Uncle Tom, has come to see -me; and how he got here and how he has found me out remains yet to -tell. Come in, come in, my Tom. Let us get into the shelter of the -house and let me look at you and make quite sure that it is in very -deed my brother Tom who talks to me. But your voice rings true, your -dear, kind voice that I had thought never to hear again." - -She struggled to the seat in the verandah and pulled him down beside, -gazing into his face with hungry eyes. It was bliss enough to look -at him after the long lapse of years, to hold his hand between her -own, which would hardly cover one of his. - -"You always had such big hands, Tom, such big, kind hands that seem -to carry help and consolation in their very touch. Oh, how I've -wanted you sometimes since--he died." - -She did not name her husband, but Tom knew well enough she referred -to the father little Eva could not remember. - -"But you could have had me for the asking," he said gently. - -"I know, I know, but pride would not let me. How could I appeal to -you for help when father and Walter--that elder brother of mine--told -me that in marrying George I made my final choice between them and -him? And you were away, away in Canada, and George just about to -return to the colony. We were madly in love, he and I, so I married -him and came out with him. I don't say life was easy, Tom; I don't -know whether I did right or wrong in marrying George, but I do know -this--that from that day to this I never regretted it. He was the -dearest and best of men, and we were devoted to each other. I own -that when he got ill he suffered agonies of self-reproach in having -allowed me to come out with him, but if I had life over again I -should have chosen him before all living men. You see father had -decided on another match. George, as he lay dying, tried to make me -promise to go home, but I told him I never would do it, that I was -strong enough and young enough to support myself and the child." - -"Young enough, but scarcely strong enough, I take it," said Tom, -slipping his arm round the slight frame. - -She crept up closer to him. "I don't feel young," she said. "The -buffeting of life has made me feel old and cold. If I could forgive -father the part he played----" - -"Ah, hush," said her brother, "surely you will forgive him, as God -will forgive us all. Father died a few months ago." - -Clarissa drew herself away, stiffening into stony silence, her hands -folded in her lap. Dead! her father dead, and she not a moment since -speaking angry, unforgiving words of one who had passed into the -presence of the Great White Throne! It was forgiveness for herself -that she craved for now, forgiveness for all the hard thoughts she -had harboured against him since they parted in such hot anger, -forgiveness that in her pride she had made no effort to break through -the barrier of silence built up between them. Never a line had she -either written to home or received from it since that hasty flight of -between six and seven years ago. - -Eva, feeling that matters had passed beyond her childish ken, had -slipped away into the back garden, and was solacing her loneliness -with a game with the new kitten that they had given her up at the -farm, so the brother and sister were left alone. Tom understood -something of the conflict that was passing in his sister's mind and -wisely held his peace. He left her to the teaching of the still -small voice which was making itself heard in her heart with gentle -insistence. - -"I suppose he never forgave me," she said at last. - -"I did not hear him mention your name until his last illness. Then, -when his mind wandered, your name was often on his lips, showing that -you still held your place in his heart. He left you an annuity of -£150 a year. Walter tried his level best to track you to tell you -about it, but up to this time his search was quite unsuccessful. We -wrote to the post-office authorities, but they did not help us; we -gave your name to the leading firm of lawyers in Launceston and -Hobart, we advertised in the local papers, but nothing came of any of -our enquiries. Then I decided to come and work as a bush parson in -the colonies for some years before settling down in an English -parish, and I thought it not unlikely that I might find some clue to -your whereabouts, and all in a moment I found you by the most -unlikely means in the world. I stood watching two little children -playing in a field near by, went in and made friends with them, and -discovered in one of them my own little niece, who brought me -straight home to mummy. Some people may call it a happy chance, but -I prefer to regard it as a direct Providence." - -"What made you come here at all?" - -"The fact that your own parson broke down, as you know, quite -suddenly, and was ordered away for rest; the bishop knew I was at -work somewhere in this neighbourhood, and wrote to ask me if I could -combine my peregrinations in the bush with Sunday services in this -and the other churches connected with this parish until such time as -he can find a _locum_. He is terribly short-handed at present. I'm -very thankful to be able to give my services free of charge, for -while the bulk of the property goes with the estate to Walter, my -father has left me a sufficient income to make me independent of any -stipend from the Church. If I take an English living at some future -period it will be one with a simply nominal income that a man without -private means could not accept. At present I find my nomadic life so -absorbingly interesting that I have no immediate intention of -returning home." - -"And you will work near here? How wonderful and delightful! What a -change one short half-hour has made in life's outlook. Poor father! -Did he leave me that annuity out of pity, do you think? No, you need -not be afraid that I shall refuse it. My pride is broken down. It -seems a poor thing to have let it stand between him and me, and -now--I can't even say I'm sorry." - -"I forget the exact wording of the will, but I think it said 'lest -she should come to want.'" - -Clarissa flushed a little. "I have not wanted, but it's been a hard -struggle, and if my health had failed"--her voice broke for a moment. -"But now, with £150 a year at my back, the worst fear, the one that -has kept me awake at nights sometimes, that the child would suffer, -is entirely taken away. One can live the simple life out here, none -despising you." - -"And you think I shall be content to leave it at that?" - -"You will have to be content," and his sister slipped her hand into -his. "If I needed help at any time I know you will be glad to give -it, but I chose my own life in marrying my George, and I'll abide by -it. I've no wish to return to England, and what will keep me here in -comfort would be grinding poverty at home." - -"Walter will never consent to your remaining out here." - -Clarissa smiled a little sadly. "He may protest a little, but in his -inmost heart he'll not be sorry to leave things as they are. We -shall get on quite nicely fifteen thousand miles apart." - -A little head peeped round the corner, and a piteous voice made -piteous appeal. - -"Mummy, I'm not naughty. Mayn't I have my dinner, please? Bush -brother can stay if he wants to." - - - - -CHAPTER V - -A CHURCH OFFICIAL - -Neither game nor story was needed for the children's amusement that -afternoon. They sat side by side on the grass with their heads very -close together discussing the exciting event of the morning, the -strange man's visit and his puzzling profession; at least Jack was -extremely puzzled and not at all satisfied by Eva's explanation. - -"He's mummy's brother, don't you see? and my uncle. That's what he -means when he says he's a bush brother." - -Jack shook his head incredulously. "Mummy's brother and bush brother -can't mean the same," he said. - -"Pr'aps he calls himself 'bush' 'cause he's got a beard," Eva -suggested. - -"That's silly! A bush has got nothing to do with a beard." - -"Yes, it has," said Eva nodding her head, "birds build in bushes and -they build in beards." - -Jack fairly screamed with laughter. "Who's stuffed you up with that -nonsense?" - -"It's not nonsense," said Eva, almost in tears. "It's in a book -mummy gave me, and there's a picture of the man and a verse about him -too, so it must be true. Mummy teached me the verse." - -"Say it, then," said Jack, mockingly, and Eva folded her arms behind -her plump little person, knitting her brows in the effort to quicken -memory. - - "There was an old man with a beard, - Who said 'It's just as I feared, - Two owls and a wren, four larks and a hen - Have _all_ built their nests in my beard.' - -"THERE!" - -Only capital letters could express the triumph of the final -exclamation, but Jack laughed louder and longer than ever. - -"But it isn't true," he said. - -"O' course it's true. It's in a book, and there's the picture. -Mummy shall show you," reiterated Eva, stamping her foot. - -The quarrel promised to be a pretty one, when, all unperceived, the -man whose beard was under discussion had come into the garden and -stood by them. Eva ran towards him, putting her hand in his. - -"Uncle Tom, tell him, please. He won't b'lieve me." - -"It's all about beards," said Jack. "Eva says birds build in 'em -same as they do in bushes, and o' course they don't. It's just -nonsense." - -"No bird has tried to build in mine at present," said Uncle Tom, -stroking his thoughtfully. "What made you think of such a funny -thing, Eva?" - -It took a minute or two to unravel the thread of the children's -discussion, and Uncle Tom sat chuckling to himself as they talked. - -"The simplest way of putting the matter straight will be to tell you -what I mean by calling myself a bush brother, won't it?" - -"Yes," said the children in chorus. - -"It's neither being mummy's brother nor the beard I grow that gives -me the title----" - -Jack gave Eva a nudge. - -"But it's the calling that I've chosen for the present. There were a -few parsons in England----" - -"Oh! it's parsons who are called bush brothers, is it?" asked Jack, a -little disappointed at so commonplace an explanation. - -"No, not all parsons, but just a few of us who have undertaken a -particular kind of work. We heard of Englishmen who had emigrated to -the colonies and settled in places very far away from their fellows, -who year after year lived out their lonely lives never getting a -chance to have their little children baptized, or their sick people -visited, whose Sundays were just spent like other days because they -had no services to go to, so a few of us banded ourselves together in -a sort of brotherhood----" - -"What's that mean?" Jack asked. - -"A society or company that binds itself together to do the same work, -and the work we brothers put before us was to come out to the -colonies for a few years and make it our special business to find out -all the lonely settlers in the bush and visit them, and try to gather -them together for little services. Now you see why we call ourselves -bush brothers: because our work lies, not in townships and places -such as this, although I am going to be here on Sundays for a little -while whilst your clergyman is away on sick leave, but we wander from -place to place, to all the most distant homesteads, some of them -buried miles and miles away in the bush." - -"Does you walk?" asked Eva in her matter-of-fact fashion. - -"Sometimes I walk and sometimes, when I know the distance is too -great, I hire a horse and ride, and sometimes the way is hard to -find, and I get lost. I was lost for two whole days not long ago, -and had to camp out at night without either food or shelter. I was -glad, I can tell you, when I struck the track again and found myself -not far from a farm where they showed me the greatest kindness. I -spent a Sunday there, and the farmer and his sons gathered together a -few other people not far away, and we had service in a barn, and I -baptized three little children that had been born since last a parson -had visited them. I stayed there for a week, and gave the children -lessons every day, and they were so pleased and eager to learn, poor -mites. They did not even know the stories about Jesus when He was a -baby. It's not often I find children as ignorant as that, but many -of them get very little teaching about the Bible. Very often there -is not a Bible in the house. I don't always have tiny congregations. -Last Sunday I was miles away up there," pointing to the bush-clad -hills which bounded the horizon, "where there are some large lumber -works, and quite a lot of men are at work there. So I spent the few -days before in making friends with them, and asking them to meet me -at service on Sunday, and we had quite a fine service in the open -air, and you should have heard the singing. It was glorious." - -"I'd like it ever so much better than going to the wooden church down -here," said Jack. - -Uncle Tom laughed genially. "Aren't you fond of going to church, -then?" - -"Not very; you've got to sit so quiet. I like the singing though, -and it's not so dull now Eva comes too." - -"Well, well; we'll see if you can't learn to like it better. -Meanwhile, let's have a game before I pay my respects to your -grandfather and grandmother." - -"Cricket?" cried Jack joyfully. - -"Capital! it's ever so long since I played a game of cricket." - -Betty, as fresh as the morning in her trim white gown, came out to -join the party in the garden, and Jack hastened to introduce her to -his new friend. - -"Here's Aunt Betty; she'll play too, if you ask her. She's a -splendid field, and will catch you out first ball unless you're -careful." - -Betty and Uncle Tom laughed as they shook hands. - -"I've already made friends with your nephew, Miss Treherne, and was -coming to call on the rest of you this afternoon, when the children -beguiled me by the way. Will you really honour us by joining in our -game, though I ask it in fear and trembling after hearing of your -prowess?" - -"Jack gives me the credit for doing everything better than anyone -else, a reputation I find it impossible to sustain, but I love to -play." - -A very spirited game followed, which ended finally in Betty's -catching out the parson, to Jack's unspeakable triumph. - -"And after your warning, too," he said, throwing down the bat in -comic despair. "And now I must pay my call, and then Eva and I must -trot home. My sister said she would be back at six o'clock, and we -must be there to meet her." - -"I'm so glad you've come; it will be so lovely for Mrs. Kenyon to -have one of her own relations with her. I think she has been very -lonely." - -Uncle Tom turned to the kindling, sympathetic face. - -"She would have been desolate indeed without the kindness she has -received from you and yours. It was an unhappy chance that separated -us, but such separation will be impossible again," said Tom Chance, -and that was all the explanation that he felt it needful to offer or -that Betty wished to hear. - -When Tom and Eva returned at last to the cottage, the sound that -greeted them as they entered was vigorous scrubbing, interspersed -with fitful singing, and Tom pushed open the door of the inner room -to see his sister on her knees scrubbing the floor with might and -main, until the boards shone again with whiteness. He put his arms -round her and swung her to her feet. - -"How dare you do it, Birdie? What shall I say to you for setting to -work like that at the end of a long day's sewing?" - -The joy of hearing her old pet name, and feeling the masterful touch -of his strong hands, brought tears to Clarissa's eyes, but a laugh to -her lips. - -"It's so good to hear you talk," she said, bending back her face to -kiss him, "but I was bound to do it to get the room all fresh and -clean for you to-night, for of course you'll come here to your -prophet's chamber, just a bed and a chair and candlestick. - -"Betty looked in half-an-hour ago, and wanted to do the scrubbing, -but I would not let her. That joy was mine, I told her." - -"Ah, I saw her slip away as I sat chatting with the old people, but I -did not know she was off to lend you a hand." - -"Lend a hand! she seems blessed with a dozen pairs, and they are -always busy in helping other people, notably me. Had I a sister, she -should be made on Betty's model. You must not think that I live in a -muddle like this, but a visitor--and such a visitor--has upset the -equilibrium of my establishment. Tea is laid out in the verandah. -Just give me a moment to tidy my hair and wash my hands, and you will -see I've not been unmindful of your creature comforts." - -And truly, the meal prepared looked dainty and appetizing. - -"I should say the catering of this household runs to extravagance," -said her brother, smiling at her. - -"Yes, for to-night, it's a case of fatted calf, and besides, I feel -money at my back." - -In clearing away afterwards, Tom showed himself as handy as any -woman. Washing up plates and dishes he declared his speciality! - -"But how did you learn it all?" asked Clarissa, pausing in her task -of drying the things Tom handed her. - -"In the same way you have done, by experience. In the course of my -wanderings I have come across many a young fellow as gently nurtured -as I am, batching in what I call squalor, so my task has been to put -things straight, and keep them tidy and clean, as far as I knew how -to do it. I think it lowers a man's self-respect to live in dirt and -discomfort, so when any fellow has put me up for a day or two, I've -tried to repay his hospitality by the labour of my hands, to make -myself worth my keep as I hope to do here, if you will let me." - -"But I won't! My augmented income will allow me to have a girl in -now and again to do the hard work, and oh! if you knew the joy it is -to me to have someone of my very own to look after again. Come -along, Eva; it's time for bath and bed, and then, Tom, you and I will -sit out in the verandah and talk." - -Their conversation lasted far into the night, albeit desultory in -character. They made no effort to pick up tangled threads, but -Clarissa, nestling against her brother's side, with his protecting -arm thrown round her, with the star-spangled sky overhead, and the -silence of the night about her, experienced a sense of peace and -happiness that had not been hers for years. Her mind went back to -the early days at home, and many a childish reminiscence was -recalled, over which the brother and sister joined in laughter that -had something of pathos in it. And then she spoke of the first -bitter trouble of her girlhood, the loss of the mother she adored -when she was only twelve years old. - -"I can't help feeling that if mother had lived, I never should have -come to loggerheads with father. We both should have acted -differently. He would have been less hard, and I less stubborn, but -it's curious how the knowledge that he is dead has changed my own -point of view. To-day I've felt myself more to blame than he. I -wish I had taken dear George's advice, and offered to go back. Even -if he had refused to have me, I should feel now that I had made some -effort towards reconciliation." - -"He would not have refused," Tom said. "I believe he was hungering -after you in his inmost heart, but it's no use going back on the -past. It only saps your energy for present action. If you made a -mistake, dear, you've paid for it heavily, and God in His goodness -can make even our mistakes stepping stones to lead us up to Him." - -"I don't feel as if I had even begun to climb," said Clarissa, in a -whisper. - -"Ah, yes," was the reassuring answer, "in your devotion to husband -and child, in your self-sacrifice, absolute and complete, you must -have drawn nearer to God, whether you knew it or not." - -Clarissa gave an indrawn sob. "You were always such a dear boy, Tom. -You used to pick me up and console me when I fell, and the falls were -so numerous--I was such a tom-boy--and now you are picking me up -after a more serious stumble, and making me feel as if I shall walk -again." - -"I will run in the way of Thy commandments," said Tom, more to -himself than to his sister. "I always think the man who wrote that -led a very joyous sort of existence, a cheerful sort of fellow who -had given up his whole life to God." - -"You make religion seem so real, Tom. You always did." - -There was a long pause, and the answer when it came was spoken from -the depth of the man's heart. - -"Surely--it's the one great reality; nothing else matters much." - -The next day was Saturday, and directly breakfast was over Tom went -down the township to find the little wooden fabric which represented -the English church. He got the key from a house near by and let -himself in by a door which had sunk on its hinges, and opened -unwillingly. There was no sign of beauty in the barn-like building, -and except that the altar was nicely cared for and had flowers upon -it the whole place filled Tom with a sense of desolation. Truly -church life in many of these places needed reformation. Small wonder -that it took the heart out of many a man who began life filled with -zeal and hopefulness to find himself with three or four scattered -country parishes on his hands, with people kindly inclined and ever -hospitable, but with narrow means, and whose church-life from want of -fostering had become almost dead. To Tom Chance, fresh from the -stirring life of a town parish at home, it seemed as if it needed a -special outpouring of the Holy Ghost to set the thing in motion, and -it was for that he prayed as he knelt for a few minutes on the -altar-step. And then a step roused him, a child's step coming in at -the door, and turning he saw his friend of yesterday, Jack Stephens, -with his hands full of flowers, and a letter carried between his -teeth. He laid down the flowers with due care, took the letter and -turned it over lovingly in his hands. - -"It's my very own," he said, smiling up at Tom, "I fetched it from -the post office just now. I get one every week from father, and I -have to answer it, but my letters are very short and his are very -long." - -"And the flowers," asked Tom. - -"Oh, they are Aunt Betty's; I bring them down every Saturday, and she -comes presently and puts them up there," pointing to the altar. - -"I s'pose I'll have to wait until she comes to hear my letter." - -"You can't read it for yourself, then." - -"Not just all," breaking open the envelope and unfolding the letter. -"I know the beginning: 'My dearest Jack,' and the end"--swiftly -turning over the sheet he held and tracing the words with his -finger--"'Loving father, Jack,' but I can't read the middles yet. I -s'pose you can read letters as easily as Aunt Betty." - -"I expect I can." - -"Then you could read this to me, and I needn't wait." - -"Will Aunt Betty mind, do you think?" - -"Why should she? There's no secrets in it." - -So Tom sat down on one of the wooden benches, and Jack sat beside -him, and the letter was read aloud. - -"Once more, please," said Jack, when it came to the finish, "and then -I shall know all it says." So once again Tom read the letter very -distinctly. - -"I don't think it's wrong to read father's letter in church. He -seems such a very good kind of man," said Tom, as he handed the -letter back to Jack's keeping. - -"Why should it be wrong?" Jack answered in great astonishment. - -"Because this little house is God's special house, not to be used for -just everyday things; but there are some letters one likes to read -aloud here--St. Paul's for example." - -"I did not know he wrote any," Jack said. - -Tom took up a Bible and showed Jack some of the Epistles, explaining -to him that the word meant the same as letter, and Jack grew quite -excited and interested. - -"And did they come by post same as mine," he said. - -"No, there were no posts then; they were all carried by hand, and we -can think of some room like this quite full of people listening to -what the apostle had written to them. Such long letters they were; -ever so much longer than father's, with a number of messages to -different people at the end. As you grow older, you'll be able to -read them for yourself." - -It all sounded so real and interesting that Jack did not in the least -realise that he was having a Bible lesson, and when Betty came in, he -ran to tell her all about it. - -"So you do the flowers. I thought them the prettiest thing in the -church." - -"It's not pretty, and there is no money to make it pretty," said -Betty regretfully. "We are none of us well-to-do, and there are not -many who seem to think it matters. The bell came down a little while -ago, and no one has made any effort to rehang it." - -Yes, there it lay in the corner of the porch; such a small bell, and -yet it had served to show the church was alive and at work. - -"But that seems such a small matter. Surely that could be -readjusted." - -"Well, father thought it really did not matter, for any boy who -happens to be here rings it and pulls it too roughly, and it gets out -of order." - -"But here you have a ready-made bellringer," said Tom, looking at -Jack. "Standing upon a hassock, Jack could quite well ring that -little bell, and he would do it gently and carefully. I think Jack -must be the bellringer, and I will see about the bell being put in -order to-day. I think a bell is a good thing. It lets people know -we are at work." - -Jack grew crimson with delight. It made him feel quite a man that he -should be singled out to ring the bell. - -"May I, Aunt Betty: May I ring the bell?" - -"Surely, Jack, if you're man enough." - -So that afternoon saw Tom at work with a carpenter he had got hold of -in the township, climbing up to the tiny bell-turret, and getting the -bell once again into position with a brand new rope hanging inside -wherewith to pull it, and on Sunday Jack awoke with the dawn and -talked of nothing but the honour which was to be his that day, the -office of bell-ringer. He was to call for Tom Chance on his way down -to the church and to have his first lesson. - -Eva was left to follow later with her mother, and never was boy -prouder than Jack when he marched off, hand-in-hand, with the parson. - -"S'pose I can't do it," he said with a little gasp as he entered, -pulling off his straw hat. - -"But you're sure to do it; it's a small bell and handled gently will -be quite easy to ring. You may have to stand upon a chair." - -That Sunday as the congregation dribbled into church much amusement -and some pleasure was felt at the sight of the grave-faced little boy -in a spotless sailor suit who stood upright as a dart upon a chair -ringing the bell with care and precision, pink with the importance of -his mission. - -A nod from Tom as he came out of the tiny vestry in his robes told -him when to stop, and he climbed down to the floor, tied up the rope -so that no one should play with it, and crept to his place by Aunt -Betty's side. - -"He won't find it dull any more now he has his own work to do," -thought Tom at the end of service, and Tom was right. - -There was no keener churchman in the township than little Jack. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -MINISTERING CHILDREN - -Jack's life seemed full of happenings at present, but the greatest of -them was the advent of the bush brother. There was really more to -tell father than the page of ruled copy-book paper upon which his -weekly letter was written could compass. With the stimulus of that -weekly letter his writing progressed by leaps and bounds, and -expression did not seem so difficult when Aunt Betty told him to try -and put down on paper the very things he would just say to father -were he there to talk to, but it must be owned that the spelling, -even with constant prompting from Aunt Betty left much to be desired. - -"ive a chum a little gurl not so big as me we dus lesuns at wunce, -but she nos nothin but her letters." - -Then a few weeks later: - -"a man has cum a parsun, but not like ours hes a bush bruther and hes -tort me ring the bell so now I go quite erly to church on sunday and -ring quite regler." - -Betty indulged in many a laugh over the letters when completed, but -to Jack's father they brought huge delight. - -Much of what Jack said to father, and father said to Jack, was -confided to Tom Chance at the rare intervals when the little boy -could secure the parson's attention to himself, for Tom was a busy -man and away for the principal part of every week, either touring in -the bush or visiting the other three parishes, none less than twelve -miles from the township, that were confided to his temporary care. -Father's parable about Giants was also passed on in full with a few -embellishments of Jack's own. - -"A good notion that of father's," said Tom, "a notion that catches -on. After all the world is just full of giants that we must subdue -to our will. There's a many-headed giant that we may call Evil that -we've all promised to fight, that we pray against every day. Deliver -us from evil; everything that is wicked and bad, and then there's -another giant God suffers in the world, the giant of illness and -bodily suffering, but there are people who are fighting that with -might and main, kind and clever doctors, such as you have here. If -you want to find giants to subdue you will have no difficulty in -discovering them." - -"But I'm going to be just the same as father," said Jack sturdily. -"I'm going to be an airman, same as he." - -"Well, well, time will show," said Tom good-humouredly. - -That talk had taken place one Sunday as they went down to church -together. Tom usually made his re-appearance in the township on -Saturday afternoon, and the moment after their dinner, Jack and Eva -would wander down to the end of the lane and between their games -watch eagerly for his coming. It was a matter of weekly speculation -how he would arrive, whether walking, or on horseback, or upon a -bicycle. It all depended upon the distances that he had to compass -during the week, but it made the watching all the more exciting; but -whenever and however he appeared he was sure of an enthusiastic -welcome from his two devoted adherents. Although the vicarage was -empty he remained with his sister, as it did not seem worth while to -set up an establishment of his own for so short a period. - -On one particular Saturday afternoon when the time for his appearing -was long past, the children's patience began to ebb. - -"Don't b'lieve he's coming at all," said Eva dejectedly. - -"Lots of things may have happened," Jack answered, "his bike may have -punctured, or his horse may have cast a shoe, or he may be very tired -and can't walk fast." - -Jack was prepared for every contingency but the notion that Tom would -not turn up at all, that would be little short of a calamity, but a -prolonged glance down the road showed something moving in the far -distance. - -"There's someone on horseback riding beside a wagon, but I don't -think it's Uncle Tom," Jack continued, for Tom Chance had adopted him -as nephew. "He's crawling like a snail." - -But as the wagon drew nearer the outrider was without doubt their -uncle, and Jack raised a shout of welcome which received no response -by word or look. The clergyman's face was turned towards the wagon. - -"It may be a----funeral," said Jack, under his breath. "Uncle Tom -looks so solemn and sad." - -Eva's rosy cheeks paled. "I think I'm going home to mummy," she said -trotting off down the lane, but Jack divided between anxiety and -curiosity held his ground. - -"Uncle Tom, what is it? Why don't you look at me?" he said, drawing -near as the wagon approached. - -"A girl who's very ill; I'm taking her to the doctor. Run home now, -Jack. I may see you later. If Aunt Betty is about ask her to come -on to the doctor's. I know she will be of use." - -Jack took in the situation with one frightened glance. The bottom of -the wagon was filled with a mattress and pillows on which a girl of -about thirteen or fourteen was stretched. Her eyes were closed and -lines of pain were round nose and mouth, and occasionally a moan of -pain broke from her lips. Pain was a new experience in his childish -life, and Jack, charged with his message, turned and fled. - -He soon found Aunt Betty, and told her about it, and the next minute -she had put on her hat and was flying by a short cut across the -paddock towards the doctor's house where the wagon had just arrived. - -Dr. Wilson gave a pleased nod when he caught sight of Betty. - -"Run on, will you, to Mrs. Mason's, just opposite the church. She -will take in my patient if she has a bed to spare, and knows the way -to look after them," and Betty with one sympathetic glance at the -pretty face of the sufferer sped on her way. Mrs. Mason was at home -and was able to put a room at the doctor's disposal, and Betty only -waited until the girl was safely lodged there and to find out if -there were any needs that she and her mother could supply, before -slipping off home again. She found the family at supper, but Jack -saw the face that nearly always smiled at him shadowed with anxiety. - -"Is it a bad case, do you think?" her mother asked. "What is the -poor child's name?" - -"Jessie Butler, and she comes from some back block behind Wylmington. -The only chance of saving her life was to bring her right away to the -doctor, so Mr. Chance saw to her removal, but the doctor thinks badly -of her. It's some injury to her spine, and he must operate to-night." - -Jack had laid down his knife and fork, and was listening with bated -breath. - -"He's so clever, p'raps he'll conquer," he said. - -Mr. Treherne turned with a little smile at the quaint phrase. - -"Who told you Dr. Wilson was clever?" he asked. - -"Uncle Tom," said Jack flushing a little; the talk which had led up -to the remark he kept to himself, but of the doctor's victory over -pain he felt fairly confident, although facts seemed against him. -After supper Betty ran down to Mrs. Kenyon's to ask for the latest -news, but Clarissa could only tell her that her brother had looked in -for a few minutes to snatch a meal, but had gone again to his patient -who it was feared would not live throughout the night. It was not -until daylight that he crept home to get a few hours' rest before his -Sunday work. Jessie had dropped asleep, and seemed a little easier. -Jack came as usual to walk with him to church. - -"There must be no bell-ringing to-day, Jack," said Uncle Tom. "There -is Jessie Butler, the girl I brought here yesterday, lying very ill -just opposite the church, and we must make no unnecessary noise." - -"Oh!" said Jack, drawing a deep breath of disappointment. - -"I'm sure you would not wish to wake her out of sleep, would you?" -said Tom kindly, "but there is something we can all do for her to-day -which may be of real help to her." - -"What," asked Jack eagerly. - -"Pray for her at the service. You listen with all your ears, and -you'll hear her name given, and the prayers of the congregation will -be asked for her and you must say yours, Jack, say them with all your -heart." - -"But you said--you said Dr. Wilson was so clever that he often -conquered pain," said Jack a little reproachfully. - -"With God's help, yes! We none of us can do anything without it, and -it's God's help we are going to ask for." - -So Jack's service that morning was just one eager waiting for the -mention of Jessie Butler's name, and when it came he folded his hands -over his eyes and just said, "Jessie Butler, Jessie Butler," over and -over again. No other words presented themselves to his mind, but -surely the name so earnestly repeated reached the listening ear of -the good God to whom he appealed. - -The next few days were just a tussle between life and death with -Jessie Butler, but life conquered, and on the fourth day the doctor -was able to pronounce her out of danger. Her recovery would be slow -and tedious, and she might have to remain where she was for a great -many weeks, but she was going to live. Tom had confined his -ministrations to the township during the days of danger, so as to be -near when Jessie asked for him. He had taken his share of watching -by her bed every night whilst the crisis lasted, and was as tender -and handy as any woman, Mrs. Mason told the doctor. - -"Yes, he's a good sort," said the doctor. - -Jack's excitement and delight were great when Tom told him that -Jessie was going to get better. - -"Soon, will it be soon?" he said. - -"No, it will be a long time before she's quite well, but she has -taken the right turn." - -"Is the pain gone?" asked Jack in a half whisper, remembering the -white face and the little moan. - -"It's better but not conquered yet, but it will get better every day. -Would you like to come with me the next time I go, and take her a -bunch of flowers?" - -Jack's head went down. "Not if she shuts her eyes and makes a -noise," he said. - -"But her eyes are very big and wide open, and she'll smile at you and -be so pleased to see you. I want you and Eva to go sometimes to see -her. It's rather dull for her lying there all day long, although -soon she will be wheeled out into the verandah." - -Thus reassured Jack accepted Tom's suggestion. Yet he experienced an -inward tremor as he found himself at the house-door which Tom opened -and entered without knocking, but he knocked at the half-open door of -the room just inside, and a girl's voice bade him enter. - -"I've brought you a visitor, Jessie, a little boy who has been very -anxious you should get well." - -Jack laid his flowers on the bed. There was no room for fear or -distress in looking at the girl who lay there with her pretty oval -face framed in two big braids of dark hair, and with great, big grey -eyes that smiled a welcome. - -"Are they for me?" she said, nodding at the flowers. "I'd like 'em -near, so as I could smell them," so Jack shifted his nosegay nearer -the pillow. - -"You must know his name, for he's coming again, and going to bring a -little chum of his with him, my niece, Eva Kenyon. This is Jack -Stephens, and his titles are numerous. He's Jack the Englishman, and -Jack the Bell-ringer--he rings the bell in church, don't you, Jack?" - -"Not last Sunday, because we didn't want to make a noise as you were -ill," said Jack gravely. - -"I'll hear it next Sunday, maybe," said Jessie. "I wish I could -come. It's months and months since we've been to church. We live -too far away from one, and I've been ill a long time, too." - -"When you're well enough to be wheeled out into the verandah, you'll -hear the hymns on Sunday night. We always prop the door open." - -"That'll seem like old times," said Jessie, with quaint -old-fashionedness. "I lived in the township with Grannie until I was -ten years old, went to the State school every day and to Sunday -school over there"--with a nod at the church. "Then Grannie died, -and I went home to father and mother, but I don't like it. It's so -lonesome in the bush. It's lovely to lie here and see the coach go -by twice a day and the horses and bullock drays and things." - -But Tom, watching the delicate face flush, thought Jessie had talked -enough, and kneeling down, said a prayer or two, and standing, sang a -hymn, and then bade the girl good-bye. - -"Will you come again, and bring the little girl you spoke of?" asked -Jessie, as Jack laid a shy hand in hers. - -"Yes," said Jack gravely. - -Once outside, he was full of talk about his visit. - -"I shall go every day; she liked it, didn't she?" - -"Yes, but you must not go too often yet, until she's stronger. She -still has a good deal of pain to bear, though we hope it will grow -less every day." - -"I thought Dr. Wilson had conquered it." - -"He's made it better, but only time can make her well." - -"But she's smiling all the time." - -"Yes, she's extraordinarily brave, as many girls are." - -"Not so brave as boys," said Jack quickly. - -"Often a great deal braver in bearing pain." - -"I could take her some toys, p'raps," said Jack, not caring for the -turn the conversation had taken. - -"Books are more in her line; she's a great reader." - -"I s'pose you'd have to read if you could not run about," Jack said. - -"But Jessie loves reading as much as playing games, almost -better,"--a statement so wonderful that it reduced Jack to silence. - -"It was odd of you to take Jack to see that poor sick child," said -Tom's sister that evening. "He's been telling Eva about it, and -she's wild to go with him, but I don't think I shall let her." - -"Why not?" - -"Oh, I think children should be kept away from the sight of painful -things as long as possible." - -"But there is nothing painful to see in visiting Jessie. She's a -singularly pretty child, lying in bed and nearly always smiling. -Don't you think the sooner children learn to think about other people -the better?" - -"Oh, I don't know; let them be happy as long as they can, poor mites. -I don't believe in leagues for making children kind. It only turns -them into self-conscious prigs." - -"I quite agree, but to teach children to minister to others without -being conscious of such ministry, is surely only teaching them the -lesson of unselfishness. They should give out sympathy as a rose -gives out scent. Besides, I really think the child will be lonely -when I'm away. I've been staying about here purposely, as long as -she was in danger, but next week I must be off again about my -business. Mrs. Mason gives her all the necessary looking after she -requires, but has no time for sitting with her or diverting her -thoughts, and it struck me that the children looking in from time to -time would be very delightful for her and for them." - -"Oh well, Eva shall go with Jack sometimes, and the fowls are laying -pretty steadily now, so I shall be able to send a few eggs -occasionally." - -"I knew you would do what I asked; you always do," Tom said, smiling -at his sister. - -"But it's too delightful to have you here to ask things." said -Clarissa, bending down to kiss him. - -The pleasure the children's visits gave at the cottage was mutual. -On their side it was delightful to plan little gifts by way of a -surprise to Jessie, in which they were aided and abetted by their -home people, but Jessie on her side proved a capital companion, who -could teach them quiet games, such as "Beggar my neighbour," etc., or -she would tell them wonderful tales of the bush, of fires, or people -who were lost, tales that were true, that she had picked up from one -or another. - -But, greatly as Jessie looked forward to her little visitors, the -happiest hours of her week were still on Saturday and Sunday, when -her clergyman friend came to see her, for he was making the most of -the time of Jessie's enforced inactivity to talk to her and teach her -about sacred things, and he found in her one of the brightest and -most intelligent pupils he had ever had. She was fairly familiar -with the Bible stories, but as must necessarily be the case in wide -districts where one clergyman has to do the work of four, her -definite Church teaching was of the slightest. - -And yet, that she had very strong groping in that direction was -discovered to Tom one Sunday when, after some simple, direct teaching -about her baptism, she looked up into his face with a sudden smile, -and said: - -"Why can't I be confirmed? I was all ready once, about six months -ago. There was a confirmation at Wylmington, and then I could not -go, and I cried myself sick with disappointment. I was ill, you see. -My back had begun to be troublesome. Can't you confirm me?" - -Tom did not smile at the vague conception of what confirmation meant, -but answered the hungry longing for more grace that the question -implied. - -"You've asked me something I'm unable to give you, Jessie," he said -gently. "The rite of Confirmation is not mine to perform. It's the -Bishop, the chief shepherd of the flock, to whom belongs that Laying -on of Hands, which brings with it, we believe, very special gifts of -the Holy Spirit." - -Jessie hung her head and blushed a little. - -"I knew it was the Bishop who came to Wylmington, but I did not know -just what you were. You seem quite different from most clergymen. I -thought, maybe, you could confirm people." - -"No, I'm just an ordinary every-day Parson, but as you seem keen -about it, we will have some talks, and see how much you understand of -its meaning. Who prepared you before?" - -"Oh, Mr. Marston, the clergyman who has gone away ill, would stop -after service on the Sundays; he came up to Wylmington, and told us -boys and girls who wished to be confirmed to stay behind whilst he -talked to us about it. And he asked us to get our Catechism perfect -in between, and he said, if we kept regular to the Sunday class, he -would try to see each one of us separately before the Bishop came, -but I could only go to one or two of the classes, what with bad -weather and being ill, but if I'd been well enough to get there on -the day, I believe he'd have let me come, because I wanted it so -much." - -"Be confirmed, you mean," said Tom. "Why were you so eager?" - -"Because, because," stammered Jessie with shining eyes, "it will help -to make one good. You promise to be good, and God helps you." - -It was not a very lucid way of explaining it, but the spirit was -willing if the learning was weak, and Tom left her with a -determination that, if possible, the girl should have her heart's -desire. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -A BISHOP'S VISIT - -"Everything comes to an issue to him who knows how to wait," said Tom -Chance, folding up the local newspaper with an air of deep -satisfaction. - -He was sitting in the verandah at the farm, and Betty busied herself -with a pile of mending that lay on the table before her. Tom often -found his way up to the farm on a Saturday evening when his work was -finished, for devoted as he and his sister were to each other, in -Betty he found a more understanding sympathiser with his work. She -looked up now with a quick smile. - -"What have you been waiting for?" - -"Waiting to catch the Bishop, and I believe the time has come when I -may hope to hook him. Anyway, I will write to-night." - -"Then he's likely to be in the neighbourhood?" - -"He's advertised in that paper as due at Rumney in a fortnight's time -to open their new little church." - -"Not really!" cried Betty, laying down her work. "How perfectly -delightful! Do you know that church has taken twenty years in the -building? at least the first money for it was collected twenty years -ago, but it was not nearly enough to cover the cost, so it was laid -aside to wait for better days, and it seemed as if the better days -were never coming. Now one energetic farmer has taken it up, and -pushed it through by hook or crook, but I did not know it was so near -completion. I must get over to the opening." - -"It is to be a very gala day by the newspaper account, and I think -you might take me with you, and we'll get hold of the Bishop and -bring him back with us. Can you manage it, do you think?" - -"What makes you want him so much?" - -"I'll tell you if you care to hear." - -Betty nodded, and there, in the glory of the setting sun which was -flooding the western sky with every hue of the rainbow, she sat and -listened to Jessie's story, her eyes filling with tears. - -"But how lovely," she said, when he finished. "So you've planned -that the Bishop shall come here on purpose to confirm her?" - -"If he will and can; I've never had a keener candidate. Since that -first talk with her I've been giving her a regular course of -preparation for confirmation, not holding out any hope that it might -be here and now, in case no opportunity presented itself, but just to -have her ready in case one might be given me." - -"Shall you tell her about it?" - -"Not till I get the Bishop's answer. The disappointment would be too -bitter if it came a second time." - -But the Bishop's answer was kind and favourable. He had just four -hours to spare, and provided he could be fetched and taken back to -the nearest railway station when the service was over, he would be -delighted to come. - -The children happened to call immediately after Tom had brought -Jessie the wonderful news, and found her simply radiant with joy. - -"The Bishop's coming on purpose to confirm me. Isn't it good of him -and of Mr. Chance to have settled it? I'm so happy, I don't know how -to lie still. I'd like to be up and jumping for joy." - -But Jack stood looking at her with wondering eyes. - -"I don't understand," he said. "What makes you so happy?" - -"That I'm going to be confirmed," said Jessie simply. "I've wished -it ever so much, and thought I might wait for years." - -"What's being confirmed?" - -Jessie flushed a little. "Being strengthened by God's Holy Spirit. -It's only the Bishop who can confirm you, you know." - -Jack asked no more; here was something quite beyond his -understanding. Perhaps Uncle Tom could make it clearer if he could -talk to him about it when they were quite alone. - -He approached the subject cautiously on the following morning as he -trotted down to church by Tom's side. - -"Is a Bishop a sort of head doctor?" he asked. - -Tom gave an inward chuckle, but kept outwardly grave. - -"That's not exactly how I should describe him; he is the head of the -clergy in any diocese where he may be placed, a diocese means a -certain division of the church which is given into his keeping, and -the clergy have to look up to him as their head. What made you think -he was a head doctor?" - -"I didn't understand, but Jessie said he would lay his hands upon her -and make her strong." - -They had reached the church door, and Tom unlocked it and passed in -before he answered. Then, in the simplest language he could command, -he drew Jack to his side and gave him his first lesson on the -sacraments, the outward signs which--God appointed--convey the inward -grace. He talked to him of baptism, pointing to the tiny font, as he -spoke, where the water poured on the baby's face, accompanied with -the clergyman's prayer, was the sign of the Holy Spirit descending -upon the little child; how, after confirmation, that child would be -dedicated to God to be His faithful soldier and servant until his -life's end. - -"And when you are a big boy, Jack, you will, I hope, do what Jessie -is so anxious to do now, you will stand before the Bishop----" - -"Will Jessie stand. Will she be strong enough?" broke in Jack. - -"No, God will know she can't stand, but she will lie with folded -hands and make her promise to go on serving God all her life and to -fight against the devil and all his works, and then the Bishop will -lay his hands upon her head and pray that the Holy Spirit may come -upon her and make her strong enough by His gifts to keep this -promise. It is that strength, we believe the laying on of hands -conveys." - -"Then it won't make Jessie walk?" said Jack dejectedly. - -"Dear boy, it will make her walk straight on the road towards God, -and that is the first thing, the most important thing in all the -world, to get nearer to God. But if ever she is able to walk again -it will be God that gives her the power. And now it is time you -began to ring the bell." - -But Jack had some more questions to ask. - -"Shall I see Jessie confirmed, see the Bishop lay his hands on her -head?" - -"Why, surely, if you wish it, and join your prayer with his. 'Pray -God give Jessie Thy Holy Spirit.'" - -"And when will I be big enough?" - -"To be confirmed, do you mean? It's not so much a question of years, -or size, as of understanding, Jack; understanding what you are doing. -Jessie quite understands." - -"You said when I was big. I want to be big most of all to go to -father. He will fetch me when I'm big enough." - -"Well, perhaps it might be before father fetches you, in this very -church. Who knows? But no one can settle that now." - -Jack did not speak of his talk with Uncle Tom even to Aunt Betty, but -it sank deep in his heart, taking its place side by side with the -great event that he looked forward to in future years, when "he was -big," when father would come to fetch him; and before that, Uncle Tom -had suggested that he might be confirmed as Jessie was going to be -confirmed. He could not have put the notion into words yet, but the -seed which was planted in his heart that Sunday sprouted lustily. -Meanwhile, the day of the opening of Rumney Church and of Jessie's -confirmation drew near. Happily the day proved fine, one of those -wonderfully brilliant Tasmanian days that almost beggars description. -Tom presented himself in good time at the farm, and failing to find -anyone in the house, passed round to the stables at the back, where -he found Betty putting Tim, the handsome mettlesome pony, into the -shafts of the cart. - -"But let me," said Tom, springing to her assistance. - -"Thank you, no," said Betty with a laugh. "Tim resents strangers and -gets possessed of an evil spirit if anyone handles him but a known -and trusted friend. I always have to harness him when I go anywhere. -Gently, Tim, gently," as Tim's head went up with a snort as Tom drew -near. "I hope you don't mind trusting yourself to me. There's no -room for father if we bring the Bishop back. It's a lovely drive, -but very rough for the last two miles through a bush road. To go -round makes five miles difference." - -"If I minded unmade roads or untrained horses I should hardly be -fitted for my work as a Bush parson," said Tom with a gay laugh. - -"Very well, get in then, and we'll be off." - -The descent through the paddock was made chiefly on the pony's back -legs, but once on the open road he settled to his paces and -conversation was possible. The going was rapid, for uphill or -down--and in that part of the world it is always one or the -other--seemed to make no difference to Tim. - -"'My steed on his journey was gay, As I on my journey to Heaven'" -quoted Tom, "a little break-neck, perhaps, for the bush road you -promise me for the last part of the way." - -"Which shows how little you know of Tim; you will see how soberly and -sure-footedly he will pick his way. I believe you are nervous, -notwithstanding your boast when you started!" - -"Well, I will promise not to have hysterics or clutch at the reins," -said Tom, jumping down to open the gate which barred the bush road -from the highway. And here it meant careful going, for bullock drays -had been lately along carting away some freshly hewn timber, and in -many places the cart sank into the ruts almost up to the axles. Tom -got out and walked to lighten the weight on the pony's back. It was -really pretty to see the dainty way the creature put down its feet, -avoiding bigger stones and curvetting past the huge logs that -often-times blocked the road, making a diversion into the -fern-clothed sides necessary. - -"But it's hardly a safe way for even as good a driver as Betty," he -thought, and almost before the thought framed itself, Tim was rearing -and backing, and then, with a swift swerve, would have smashed -himself, Betty, and the cart, against the enormous bole of a tree, -but for Tom's hasty dash to his head. For a moment the issue seemed -doubtful, but Tom's strong hand and soothing voice brought him into -subjection, and he stood trembling from head to foot. - -"And what was all the fuss about?" said Tom, patting Tim's head with -as much confidence as if they were friends of long standing. "Let's -have a look, old man, and see if we can't get over the difficulty," -and round the curve which Tim had just come, Tom saw the half length -of a tree which had been lately felled from which a long piece of -bark had been stripped and the dazzling flicker of sunshine across it -had startled Tim and terrified him. - -But realizing now what it was, the difficulty was at an end, and Tim -passed by without further resistance. - -"It's smoother now; you can get in if you like," said Betty, a little -crossly, and Tom mounted to her side. - -"It's a nasty fall to my pride," she said after a moment. "We should -have been smashed up into matchwood but for you, and hitherto I'm the -only one in the family with whom Tim has never misbehaved himself." - -"But it puts me on equal terms with you again, and soothes my wounded -vanity. You can't forget that on the first occasion we met you -caught me out at cricket," Tom answered, good-humouredly. - -"But I am doubly in the wrong, for I told you Tim would not let you -touch him, and he was as a lamb in your hands," went on Betty, still -put out. - -"But that is something I was born with: that is no credit to me. I -love all animals, and I think they know it." - -They were through the bush now and trotting gaily along the road to -Rumney, passing groups of people from the various farms, all bent in -the same direction. - -"Everyone comes," said Betty, "on an occasion of this kind. Roman -Catholics and every denomination that calls itself Christian." - -"That seems to me rather beautiful. Ah! there is the Bishop waiting -by the foot of the hill with quite a cluster of people about him." - -"I'll let you down with your bag and drive on to the inn, and put up -Tim," said Betty, and Tom tactfully made no offer to do it for her. - -Very soon she was wending her way, with many others, to the new -little church built on the side of a hill just beyond the township in -a clearing in the bush. There was no fence round it, no -properly-made path to lead up to it, but there was a nameless charm -in the primitive simplicity of it all, and Betty went in and thanked -God that at last the church, so long in hand, was completed. - -There was a pretty little altar with a wooden cross and vases of -fresh flowers on either side of it, a prayer desk, which at present -had to serve as lectern desk, and pulpit, and a very simple font, but -benches had had to be borrowed from the school-house hard by. It was -hoped that the offerings of the day might help to provide some new -ones. But Betty's attention was arrested by the sound of singing, -and glancing through the open door of the porch, she saw a little -procession of clergy winding its way up the hill towards the church, -the Bishop bringing up the rear. - - "The Church's one foundation - Is Jesus Christ her Lord----" - -so the words rang--at first only sung by the clergy, but as they -neared the door the congregation rose as one man to their feet, and -the well-known hymn was taken up lustily until the little building -was filled with the volume of sound. - -To Betty, all unused to church functions, it seemed the most -beautiful service she had ever attended, the touching words of -consecration, the collects that followed when the Bishop, kneeling in -the middle of the step that led up into the tiny sanctuary, prayed -God to let His blessing rest upon this house and upon the people that -should worship therein, and last of all the Bishop's address, quite -short and simple, so that everyone present could fully understand, -and yet so forcible in its simplicity, so impressive on the -importance of this dedication day, which he begged them to observe as -a _holiday_ from that time forward, a day of joyous thanksgiving that -God had allowed them, as to Solomon, to build Him a house. And then -the Bishop raised his hands in supplication. - -"Prosper Thou the work of their hands upon them, O Lord; O prosper -Thou their handiwork." - -The Blessing and a recessional hymn closed the short and simple -service, and then, whilst the congregation trooped off to the -paddocks where sports were to finish the day's holiday, the Bishop, -after a hasty lunch provided at the farmer's house near by, announced -himself ready to accompany Betty and Tom Chance. - -An hour later the cart drew up at the door of the cottage opposite -the church, and the Bishop stood for a moment bareheaded on the -threshold. - -"Peace be to this house," he said in his kindly tones, then stooped -to pat the head of the little boy in a white suit who stood with his -cap in his hand earnestly looking up into his face. - -"Jessie's little brother?" he suggested. - -"No, my little nephew," smiled Betty, "but he was very anxious to see -Jessie confirmed." - -"And it's always well to have a congregation," answered the Bishop, -and then he passed into the room where Jessie lay, a pretty picture -in her soft tulle cap and white muslin jacket which Betty had -provided for her confirmation day. A flush was on her cheeks, and -her eyes glowed like stars as the Bishop bent over her and took her -hand, speaking a few kind encouraging words. And then his eye -glanced round the crowded room, for Jessie's parents had driven over -for the day, and a neighbour or two had expressed the wish to be -present. - -"It seems rather close and crowded, doesn't it?" said the Bishop, -turning to Tom who stood by the open doorway, "and there is plenty of -room over there," with a nod at the little church opposite. "I think -we could carry her, bed and all, over there, don't you? Will you see -to it, whilst I adjourn to the vestry and put on my robes?" - -"But of course I could nearly carry her alone," said Tom, so between -him and her father, Jessie was gently moved over the road through the -porch, and into the church beyond, whilst Jack to make the thing -complete, climbed on to his usual hassock and rang the bell until the -Bishop, preceded by Uncle Tom, issued from the vestry, and then he -slipped quietly into a seat where he could watch the whole service -from beginning to end. It was just as Uncle Tom had pictured it; -Jessie lay there with folded hands and a radiant face making her -promise with a clear confident voice, and then the Bishop drew near -and laid his hands upon her head, and Jack watched with awe-struck -eyes, and wondered if the wind that came rushing down from the hills -at that moment and went whistling by the church was the outward sign -of the Holy Spirit descending upon Jessie and making her strong. She -was not strong at present for she was crying! - -And then the Bishop still stood by her looking down on her with a -tender smile, and talked of how once our Lord had called a child to -Him, and how he was sure His call had come to her to-day, a call to -which she was very ready to listen, and he believed she would follow -Him to her life's end. - -"Yes, I'll try," said Jessie, smiling through her tears. - -There was quite a long pause at the end of the service, when the tiny -congregation remained kneeling, praying for the child who had so -earnestly renewed her baptismal promises. - -"Don't carry me back home yet. I want to see the Bishop, and to -thank him for coming," whispered Jessie, and the Bishop, bag in hand, -came down the church and took her hand in his. - -"Mr. Bishop, if I live to be quite an old woman, I won't forget your -coming here to-day," she said. - -"It's been a happy day for us both, Jessie," was the kind answer. -"God have you in His keeping now and evermore," and with that final -blessing the Bishop hurried off to his train. After putting him into -the cart, Tom and her father returned to carry Jessie back. - -"Yes, I'm ready to go now," she said. "I'm very tired, but it has -been the happiest day of my life, the grandest, happiest day!" - -"And when I'm big I'll be confirmed like Jessie," thought Jack, as he -sped home, "but I hope I'll stand on my feet, not lie on a bed as she -did." - -"It was the loveliest confirmation I have ever been at," said Tom to -his sister that night. "I wish you had come to it, Clarissa." - -"I was too shy," his sister answered. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -TWO LEAVE-TAKINGS - -It seemed quite natural to Jack that Jessie's strength improved -marvellously from the day of her confirmation, for although Tom had -tried to teach him something of the outward sign which denotes the -spiritual grace, his childish mind recurred to his first idea, and he -did not for a moment question that Jessie's quickened recovery was -chiefly due to the Bishop's laying on of hands. - -"You said the Bishop's hands would make her strong, didn't you?" he -remarked one day to Tom, and Tom smiled down on him. - -"I was talking of her soul rather than her body, Jack, but it seems -as if God in His goodness were sending her both together." - -So it was that from sitting up in a chair for a considerable portion -of the day, Jessie soon began to walk a little, first to the garden -gate, then a few steps along the road, and one summer evening in the -autumn, to Jack's great excitement and delight, he saw her seated in -a chair at the bottom of the church when he went down as usual to -ring the bell. What did not please him so well was that his -wandering thoughts in the service were brought back to everyday life -by the mention of her name in church, in what connection he was too -greatly astonished to discover. He was only certain that he had -heard her name, and what could be the good of saying prayers for her -when she was sitting behind all the time and looking nearly well? -His puzzledom, it almost might be called annoyance, at the -unreasonableness of the thing kept his mind straying for the -remainder of the service, and he was glad that under cover of waiting -behind to carry something back for Uncle Tom after church, he had a -chance of putting the matter before him. - -"Uncle Tom, we didn't want to pray for Jessie Butler, to-night. What -did you do it for? Did not you see, she was in church and quite -better?" he said. - -"Which shows you weren't listening very much, Jack, or you would have -found out we weren't praying for her in the way of asking God to give -her anything. We were thanking Him for making her better, and, of -course, it was much better to wait until she could be there to give -thanks for herself. It would have very little meaning else. Now, I -will tell you a story," and very picturesquely Tom related the story -of the ten lepers. - -"Only one out of the whole lot, Jack, who remembered to give thanks -to God. A lot of us are like that! We say 'Give us this day our -daily bread,' and at the end of the day we forget to thank God for -the food we never lack." - -Jack said little, but the lesson went home. - -Jessie's lessons with her clergyman still continued for many weeks -after her confirmation, for Tom was preparing her for her first -Communion, and the next time he was able to hold a celebration at the -little church, Jessie was one of the communicants. Jack's interest -over that was far less keen than about her confirmation. It was -"something grown-up people stayed for, and children could not," was -all that he grasped at present, and Tom left it at that, willing that -the teaching about the greatest Sacrament should be given a little -later. Very quickly after Jessie's first Communion there came the -letter suggesting that it was time for her to go home. She was quite -independent now of the doctor's attendance. She showed the letter to -Tom when he came to see her, making no comment. - -"You'll be glad to go back and see them all again, I expect," but -Jessie lifted her great eyes to him quite full of tears. - -"Yes--no--" she said. "Of course, I want to see them, but although -I've been ill down here, and had a lot of pain, I've had the happiest -time of my life. You've taught me a lot, and I've been confirmed and -been to Communion, and when I go back I'll see no one p'raps for -weeks and weeks. It seems so easy to be good when you are here, but -when no one talks to you, and Sunday after Sunday you never get nigh -a church, and you work and work and always feel tired it doesn't come -so easy." - -"But you won't work for a bit yet, Jessie; you're not fit for it." - -"It's easier to work than to sit still all day and do nothing, and -see mother bustling round with never a minute to herself. Here there -is no work I ought to be doing, you see." - -Tom sat pondering. "Well, for the present you must try and make -yourself content. I quite see that your father and mother, -hard-working people, can't afford to keep you here any longer than is -necessary----" - -"Yes, I was selfish. I'd forgotten that," said Jessie. - -"And I want you to think of this, Jessie; that God who has given you -so much help lately will still be near you, and able to keep you in -the straight path when He takes some of those helps away. I know -it's much more difficult for you, but it may help to strengthen your -spiritual life, to teach you to stand alone. You'll say your prayers -and keep your Bible reading regular." - -"Yes," Jessie said, "but it's not easy when there's no one who can -tell you what it means when you get puzzled." - -"I can't quite tell where I shall go when my time here comes to an -end, but I will try and see you sometimes." - -"Oh, thank you, ever so much! That will make everything different; -for when I sit sewing in the verandah--I'll do all the sewing--I -shall feel that one time I shall look up and see you come riding -through the bush, and p'raps--p'raps, if you've nowhere else to go, -you'll stop the night. Mother would be pleased." - -"There are many more improbable things than that," Tom said. - -The children were loud in their lamentations over Jessie's leaving. - -"Why can't you stop forever and ever?" Eva demanded. - -"Because I've got a mother and father who want me back again." - -"It's miles and miles away; we can't come and see you, can we?" said -Jack. - -"Oh, I don't know. We're three miles back from Wylmington Falls, -where people come picnicing in summer time. If you came out there -one day you might get on to us." - -It did not sound very probable. - -"When are you going?" he asked rather drearily. - -"The day after to-morrow; they're sending the buggy to fetch me." - -"We'll come to the corner at the bottom of the lane to see you and -wave to you, won't we, Eva?" - -"Yes, wave to you," echoed Eva, beginning to smile again, the -prospect of active service consoling her for Jessie's departure. - -So on the following Saturday two eager children, with flowers in one -hand and handkerchiefs in the other, stood waiting at their corner. -This time the waiting was a short one, for a buggy came slowly up the -hill, and in front, supported by cushions, sat Jessie by her father's -side, whilst her small belongings were packed in behind; and at sight -of the waiting pair, Mr. Butler drew rein and Eva climbed up with -Jack's assistance to give Jessie a parting kiss, and Jack lifted his -cap and presented his flowers, holding himself very straight lest -Jessie should offer to kiss him too; but she knew better, only shook -him heartily by the hand, and thanked him for all his kindness and -then the buggy moved on, followed by the shouts of the children. - -"But I wish she hadn't gone," said Jack as the carriage and its -occupants were lost to sight. "We'll miss her every day." - -Tom came up to the farm that evening for he had something to discuss, -and wanted Betty's counsel. - -"You know what girls can do more than I," he said when he had settled -down to his pipe in the verandah. "I've Jessie Butler on my mind. -My time here now is short----" - -"Oh, I didn't know you were leaving at any definite time," said Betty -quickly. - -"Nor did I until to-day, but I've a letter from the Bishop to say -that your late vicar has resigned, and that he is going to put in a -younger man who can compass the work better." - -"Why not you?" - -"Because I refused to take it," said Tom simply. "It's not what I -came out for, although I've had a very happy time here." - -"And the new man is coming soon?" - -"As soon as the Bishop can find him. He has one or two that he would -like to send here, but I'm wandering from my point. Before I leave, -I should like to find something for Jessie to do. She's utterly -unfitted for life on a back block. It's too rough for her, and the -work too heavy. She can't do anything yet, but before the winter -sets in I'd like to see her settled at work she can do, something -fairly quiet and regular. What do delicate girls do? What are they -fit for," and Tom glanced appealingly at Betty. - -"Sewing would be too sedentary, and she would not get it either, -living where she does," said Betty. - -"That's just it; I want to move her from where she is, but she's not -strong enough for service." - -"She might help in an infant school where such help is needed. She -has read a good deal and passed all her standards, and has picked up -a good deal of desultory knowledge which, from what the children tell -me of the way she talks to them, I should think she had a gift for -imparting." - -"The very thing," cried Tom, "and I believe there is an opening at -Wylmington, which has the advantage of not being far from home in -case of a breakdown. I was in the little school there the other day, -and the teacher, Miss Armstrong, was saying that it was imperative -that she must have help with the tinies, and that she had written to -the department about it. Now, if I could only put an oar in and get -the post for Jessie, she could spend her spare time in study, and in -qualifying herself to pass the examinations necessary for her to -become a certificated teacher. In years to come she might get quite -strong enough to undertake the care of some country school." - -Tom lost no time in getting into touch with the authorities, with the -result that in a few weeks' time he had the offer of the post which -he sought for Jessie. - -Jessie's imaginings about the parson's first visit to her home only -came partly true, for on one soaking wet afternoon as the light was -beginning to wane, a dripping man, clad in waterproof from top to -toe, came riding up to the door, and she could hardly believe her -eyes when the rider turned out to be Tom. Her greeting was -absolutely incoherent in its gladness. - -"Mother, father," she cried flying to the door, "come, come quickly. -Here's Mr. Chance, come to see us, and he must be soaking to the -skin." - -"Not a bit of it," said Tom, dismounting cheerily from his horse and -shaking the rain from the brim of his hat, "thanks to my overalls. I -have a proposal to make to your father and mother, the answer to -which is urgent, and I could not wait for fine weather." - -"Well, everything must wait until you are fed, and warmed, and -dried," said hospitable Mrs. Butler, hastening forward, "Fred," to a -tall boy behind--"Come, take the horse, will you? Come in, come in, -Mr. Chance; it was good of you to ride through the bush on a day like -this, for when it rains it means business in our country." - -Ten minutes later Tom sat in the living-room before a log fire -cracking cheerily in the open fireplace, which sent a leaping shower -of flame and sparks up the chimney. The family, of varying sex and -sizes, having accorded the visitor shy greeting, dispersed, leaving -the space clear for Mrs. Butler and Jessie, who bustled round -preparing a meal of the best viands the house could produce at so -short a notice. - -After the rough but hospitable meal, Tom resumed his seat near the -fire and laid his proposal before them, that Jessie should become -temporary assistant teacher in the little school at Wylmington, with -the view of following teaching as her profession. Miss Armstrong had -expressed her willingness to give her a helping hand with her -studies, and Jessie could live at the school-house with her. Indeed, -Miss Armstrong would be glad to welcome her there, as the life was -too lonely a one for any girl to face. - -Jessie listened to the plan as it unfolded itself with occasional -exclamations of delight, but her father demurred. - -"The lass isn't strong. I'd rather have her here under our own eyes -for a bit." - -"But it's the future we must look to, Harry. It's putting Jessie in -the way of earning her own living. If anything ails her she's not -far from home," said the more sensible mother. "I believe we must -let her go." - -"Thank you," said Tom, as if he were accepting a favour, rather than -conferring one. "I wanted to feel Jessie had found her proper niche -before I said good-bye." - -Jessie's heart sank like lead, all the joy at the thought of the life -of useful work which opened out before her dashed by the near -prospect of losing the friend who had so greatly helped her, but she -said nothing. Her regret was too deep for words. She simply turned -imploring eyes upon the speaker as if making dumb appeal to him to -reverse his decision. - -"It seems a pity you should leave us," said the farmer with slow -deliberation. "I don't profess to know much about parsons and their -work, but it strikes me you are the right man in the right place." - -"Thank you," said Tom, with a little laugh, "but I never came to -stop. I came to fill a gap; I am leaving for the mainland almost -directly." - -"Never coming back?" said Jessie, with a choke in her voice. - -"Never is a big word, Jessie. I hope certainly to revisit Tasmania -before I go back to England, but it may be a long time first. I did -not come to the colony with a notion of finally settling here." - -Then he gave them a short sketch of the work he had been sent out to -do. - -"Humph!" said the farmer, "very good as far as it goes, but it seems -to me a bit like lighting a fire and setting it in a blaze and then -leaving it to die down to a heap of ashes." - -"But we hope it may lead to an extension of the church's work." - -"May be," said Butler, but his tone was incredulous. - -Then Tom rose and said he must be getting on his way. - -"You'd have some difficulty in finding it on a night like this," said -the farmer with a chuckle. "Listen to it," and across the swirl of -the rain upon the roof and windows came the roar of the wind through -the bush. "Best stay here for the night. We can offer you a shake -down in here, can't we, wife? And a sound roof to cover you." - -Tom rose and went to the door before making a final decision, but the -wild rush of wind and rain in his face made him close it again pretty -quickly. - -"Thank you; I'll stay, although I'm afraid I'm causing you some -inconvenience, but it would take a more experienced bushman than I to -find my way on a night like this." - -"Seems to me," said Mrs. Butler a little shyly, "that having the -parson here, we might have prayers to-night, before we settle in. -It's not Sunday, but it's many a Sunday we have to do without 'em." - -"Call the others in, then," said Butler, not altogether pleased by -the innovation, so in trooped the boys and girls wide-eyed and -smiling at the novelty of prayers in the middle of the week. - -But they all felt there was something in it when Tom began. His -manly earnestness was infectious and it was quite like church prayers -after all, for he read a Psalm and then a few verses from the Bible, -following on with familiar collects. - -"Lighten our darkness, O Lord, and by Thy great mercy defend us from -the perils and dangers of the night," he said, and the thunderous -crash of a tree falling not far from the house reminded his listeners -that the perils of the night were close about them--even at their -doors. - -"I should like us to sing a hymn together," said Tom as he rose from -his knees, "something we all know. Shall it be 'Abide with me?'" and -he started it in a strong clear voice and very soon the whole family -joined in, not absolutely correctly perhaps, in time or tune, but -with heartiness that made it effective. - -"Thank you," said Butler at the end. "Some folks say that extempore -prayers come more from the heart, but for my part I like those I've -been used to from a boy." - -Then the family slipped off to bed, and the sofa was pushed nearer -the fire and a few rugs brought in and soon Tom was settled in for -the night. With the first streak of dawn he was awake and pushed his -way into the outer kitchen in search of soap and water, but there he -found some one had been before him, and everything had been arranged -for his comfort; and later Jessie appeared, carrying him his -breakfast on a neat tray. - -"It's kind of you to enable me to make an early start, and the -weather is kind too. What a lovely morning after that wild night," -but Jessie's heart was too full of other things to think of the -weather. - -"Mr. Chance, how will I keep good when you're gone?" - -"No one keeps you good," said Tom, "except God's Holy Spirit, which -is yours already and who will abide with you for the asking. And for -the rest, Jessie, do your work lovingly and carefully, as in God's -sight, and on Sunday you can give a helping hand in the school and -teach the little ones about holy things. You can help along the -church's work in the place if you have a mind to." - -Then Mrs. Butler came in, and a quarter of an hour later Tom was -wending his way back to Wylmington. - -The following Sunday was his last in Wallaroo, and the little church -was packed to hear his last sermon, and quite a number of people -waited outside the church to shake him by the hand and bid him -Godspeed, a send-off he much preferred to the social evening which it -had been proposed to give him in the previous week, but which his -many engagements had forced him to decline. - -"Uncle Tom," said Jack, thrusting his hand into Tom's as they walked -home together, "you will come back, won't you, as everyone's so sorry -you're going away?" - -"I don't suppose I shall come back as your clergyman, Jack, but I -shall certainly come back before I go to England, in fact whenever a -chance presents itself." - -"But Eva and I won't watch for you on Saturday afternoons?" - -"No, I'm afraid you won't, but some day, when you least expect me, I -shall come popping in by the coach, or on my feet." - -"And you'll come when I'm confirmed same as Jessie?" said Jack. - -Tom smiled to himself, well pleased that Jessie's confirmation had -made so deep an impression upon the little boy. - -"I don't know even if I shall be in the colony then, but if I'm -anywhere within reach I'll come when you are confirmed," said Tom. - -"Aunt Betty," said Jack, as Betty tucked him into bed that night, -"you need not cry any more, Uncle Tom will come back some day." - -"But what nonsense you are talking. I'm not crying," was the reply. - -"But you _did_ cry in church, and I s'pose it's because Uncle Tom is -going away. If not, what _did_ you cry for?" said Jack, a question -Aunt Betty did not think fit to answer. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -A SURPRISE VISIT - -Four years had passed since Tom Chance had left Tasmania, and it was -with a pleasurable quickening of pulse that he found himself back in -the island and walking along the hilly road from the station towards -Wallaroo. He had told no one he was coming, for he had planned once -or twice before to pay a flying visit which pressure of work had made -him obliged to defer, so this time he had determined to take his -friends by surprise. His years of absence had been full of strenuous -work, and he had travelled through many parts of the huge continent, -up the Murray River, to New South Wales and Queensland, and wherever -he had gone his strong personality and convincing earnestness had -left behind a certain quickening of church life which in many cases -proved permanent. And now he was conscious of brain fag, of a need -for a holiday, and had made up his mind quite suddenly to take one, -and it was natural that he should spend it with his sister and in -revisiting some of his Tasmanian friends. The coach had not met the -train by which he arrived, and he had left his baggage at the station -and was walking the eight miles which separated the railway from -Wallaroo. - -And he commended himself for his decision as he strode leisurely -along the zig-zag road which at every turn disclosed a wider and more -beautiful view, and to his eyes, tired with the arid wastes through -which he had lately travelled, the blue atmosphere and exquisite -colouring of the island seemed little short of Paradise. - -Indeed, in all his travels, Tasmania was the spot which had wound -itself most closely round his heart. And from the land his mind -passed on to the faces he was so soon to see again, Clarissa's joyous -welcome, and that of his friends at the farm. Children's memories -were short; he could scarcely hope that Eva would remember him, and -of Jack he had heard not long since that he had developed from the -delightful innocence and frankness of childhood, into a somewhat -bumptious schoolboy, at least such was his sister's report. - -"And Betty seems rather harassed with the care of him," she had said -in her last letter. "She said the other day that she so wished he -could have remained under your influence as he needs a man's hand, -and his father is anxious that the boy should remain under her care -until he is fourteen years old, when a sister of his will be -returning for good from India and promises him a home." - -It was this report that had made Tom decide to sail for Tasmania at -once. If he could be of service to Betty in the absence of little -Jack's father, he might turn his holiday to good account. Jack had -been sent to the State school some six months ago, and the society of -boys older than himself had probably gone to his head like wine, and -made him lose his balance, in which case a little judicious snubbing -might have good effect. - -So thought Tom Chance as he breasted the last steep incline from the -top of which he would catch his first glimpse of the township. -Another mile and he would be at home, and very much at home he felt, -as he walked through the straggling street, exchanging greetings with -one and another who remembered him. Then came the turn into the -familiar green lane, where so often two little friends had waited for -him on a Saturday afternoon; but to-day no one was in sight, but just -as he reached the gate of his sister's house a child with a bright -face and a long plait of dark hair down her back, came running down -the path whom Tom found it difficult to recognise as the curly-headed -dumpling of five that he had left behind him. But no such great -difference had the four years worked upon Tom himself, and Eva stood -still for a moment, regarding him with startled wonder in her eyes; -then as full recognition dawned upon her she came flying towards him -with open arms. - -"Mother, mother," she called back over her shoulder. "Here's Uncle -Tom come to see us," and the next instant Eva's arms were round her -uncle's neck. - -And Clarissa, a younger, rosier, happier Clarissa, came hurrying up -behind. - -"But Tom, how naughty of you not to let us know you were coming," she -said when the first greetings were over, "not to have given me the -joy of anticipation and of preparation. Now you will have to take -just what you can get. I've improved your prophet's chamber though, -since you lived in it. I've added a little writing-table and an easy -chair. Life has taken a different colour altogether since last you -came." - -And so she chatted on as she hurried on her preparations for tea, -giving her brother no time for explanations. - -"I hope you've come to stop a long, long time," she said at last. - -"I've come to spend my holiday with you. I've not had one since I -came to the colony, and suddenly felt in need of it." - -"And that's six weeks and sometimes seven in the summer time," said -Eva clapping her hands. - -"I was quite flattered that you remembered me, Eva; you were such a -tiny mite when I left, a round dumpling of a niece, and now you have -grown into a little girl, with a pig-tail down your back." - -"I couldn't forget," said Eva, "when mother talks of you every day -and your likeness looks at me as I go to sleep. Why I say good-night -to you, same as if you were there." - -"I think I'll go over and see them at the farm," said Tom, when tea -was ended. "I want to surprise them as I surprised you, and you can -come with me, Eva, and see your chum." - -Eva's head went down, and Tom fancied he saw tears on her long -lashes. "I'll stay with mother, thank you. Jack isn't chummy any -more. He doesn't want me now he has boys to play with." - -"Oh, I expect he does," said Tom, consolingly, "but now he goes to -school and has regular lessons he can't have so much time for play, -nor should you have, by rights. I suppose Eva has lessons to learn -as well as Jack?" turning to Clarissa. - -"Oh, I don't let her go to the State school; there is a girls' school -opened in the place by a rather nice Englishwoman, and Eva goes to -her every morning and works at home in the afternoon, but it's out of -school hours that she misses Jack. I don't know what has come over -the boy. He says he has 'no use' for girls." - -Tom laughed a little, but thought that Master Jack wanted bringing -down a peg or two. However, he would go and see for himself. - -It was getting dusk as he crossed the paddock, and no one seemed -moving about the farm premises. He had half hoped that Jack might -have been playing about somewhere, and that his first meeting with -the boy might have been when he was alone. He let himself in gently -by the garden gate and stood looking round him. Every window and -door stood open, and in the verandah, lying back in a long wicker -chair, was Betty. The attitude was such an unusual one that Tom -divined at once that all was not well with her. There was weariness -written on every line of the recumbent figure, not weariness of body -only, but weariness of mind. And then Tom felt he had no right to -watch her and went forward to speak to her. - -"I'm a late visitor, Miss Treherne, but may I come in?" - -Betty sprang to her feet with a glad cry of welcome. - -"Isn't it odd? you were the very man I was wishing for. I wanted to -talk to you about so many things, and now you are here. Father and -mother have gone over to Wylmington to keep the Carltons' silver -wedding day, and I don't expect them back until quite late." - -"So that some of the things you want to say to me can be said here -and now," said Tom, sinking down into a chair by her side. "But -first, I must see my friend Jack. Shall I find the rogue round by -the stables?" - -"He's in bed," said Betty, shortly. - -"So you keep him to early hours," said Tom. "I left Eva talking to -her mother." - -"He's in bed because he's naughty, and it's the only punishment I can -inflict, and I should not be surprised any day if he refused to go, -and what my next move would be does not yet appear. It's quite -certain I can't beat him." - -"But your father could. I'm no advocate for beating, but -occasionally a boy in the puppy stage is better for it." - -"Father is too old and too lenient. Besides, he's my -responsibility," said Betty, with a little laugh that had tears -behind it. - -"You should send him home." - -"I would if my brother-in-law had anyone there to mother him, -although I should be sending half my heart with him." - -"Well, depend upon it he's only passing through one of the rather -tiresome stages of development, which every man-child experiences in -a more or less degree." - -"But which it needs a man's hand to guide him through." - -"I'm not at all sure that a mother's or aunt's influence does not go -further," said Tom consolingly, "but I shall be here for a few weeks -now, and will do what I can. Besides, I'm so fond of the boy. I -don't think little Jack the Englishman can have gone far astray. -Does your present clergyman have much to say to him?" - -"Mr. Curtis?" answered Betty. "He's quite a good man and a very hard -worker, but he has no knack with children. He is shy of them, and -the feeling is mutual." - -"And does Jack ring the bell still?" Tom asked, with a little laugh. - -"No, he got late one or two Sundays, and Mr. Curtis told him that if -he could not be there in time he would rather ring it himself. The -novelty and honour of the thing had worn off a little, and Jack would -not go any more and I did not think it wise to force him." - -"But he goes to church?" - -"Oh yes, he goes with me, and to Sunday School also. He announced -last Sunday that he was getting too old to go to Sunday School, but I -promptly sat on him." - -"To sum up the matter, Master Jack has grown a little too big for his -boots." - -"Metaphorically and literally," Betty answered smiling. "He's such a -big boy for his age and very manly; he is always out-growing his -suits. People often take him for twelve or thirteen, and he's only -eleven, and as it has always been his ambition to be big, he assumes -the airs of boys much older than himself." - -Then Tom led Betty's thoughts to other channels, told her something -of his own travels and experiences, and left her at last refreshed -and soothed. But all Betty had told him about Jack troubled him -rather. The boy must be summarily dealt with. Jack was terribly -chagrined in the morning when he heard that Uncle Tom had arrived, -and had asked to see him. - -[Illustration: JACK, WITH HIS FACE SKYWARD, SMOKING A CIGARETTE. p. -109] - -"What did you say, Aunt Betty?" - -"I had to tell him the truth, that I had sent you to bed because -you'd been naughty," said Betty, quietly. "I'd run off directly -after breakfast and find him, if I were you." - -But Jack's conscience made a coward of him, and instead of seeking -Uncle Tom he ran off to a far corner of the farm and threw himself -behind a stack, angry with himself and all the world. Half-an-hour -later, Tom, sauntering about the farm in search of him, saw a tiny -thread of smoke blown round the corner of the stack, and, peering -round the corner, discovered Jack stretched full length along the -ground, with his face skyward, smoking a cigarette. - -At the sound of a footstep Jack sprang to his feet, thrusting the -cigarette into his pocket, turned scarlet and then very white, and -came forward with a slightly sheepish expression. - -"Oh, Uncle Tom, I'm jolly glad to see you," he said, stretching out a -brown paw. "I'm----" and then he came to a pause, disconcerted by -the smiling gaze fixed upon him. - -"I'm afraid I disturbed you in the luxury of a quiet smoke," said -Tom, seating himself with his back against the stack. "A new -accomplishment, eh! Jack?" - -Jack's face was sickly green now. "I was not smoking," he said, -avoiding the scrutiny of Tom's eyes. "I was only going to light a -bonfire." - -The answer was more serious than Tom had believed. The boy lied, and -Tom's heart was hot within him, but his voice was almost alarmingly -quiet. - -"Let's have a look at your pockets, old man. I would rather like to -see what you've got in them." - -"I won't," said Jack, stung into defiance. "You're not----" - -"Not Uncle Tom, were you going to say?" went on Tom Chance. "It was -a pretence relationship, just a baby's whim to call me so. All -right, Jack, so be it, but it is not the welcome I expected from my -friend, Jack the Englishman," and he turned to go, but Jack sprang -after him, seizing him by the hand. - -"Don't go, please don't go, Uncle Tom. I did not mean it, really. -I'm truly awf'ly glad to see you, but it's treating me like a baby to -tell me to turn out my pockets." - -"Look here, Jack," said Tom, turning upon him a face nearly as white -as his own, "you know quite well why I wanted to see into your -pocket. It's because I wanted to prove that you've lied to me. You -were smoking, which only showed you to be a silly little ass. That -could soon have been mended by a straight talk, but you told a lie to -cover it, and that can't be mended. You'll carry the stain of that -lie to your life's end. I'm deeply, bitterly, disappointed in you, -and if you were my real nephew I'd beat you with the greatest -pleasure in life." - -Jack lifted sullen, unrepentant eyes. - -"Beat me," he said, "beat me, and have done with it." - -"No," said Tom. "Even that would not make things level. You are -neither sorry nor ashamed." - -He watched the knot climb into the boy's throat, he could almost see -the fight between the evil and good spirit in his heart, and doubted -which would conquer. He could but admire the boy's outward -appearance, his splendid physique, his handsome head set so firmly on -his broad shoulders, but the charm of the child that knows no evil -was his no longer. - -"Jack," said Tom again, "if you are giving me a sore heart, what will -you give your father? How will you look him in the face if you can't -speak the truth and shame the devil?" - -Jack's arm went up as if to ward off a blow; he tried to speak but -choked in the effort, and then he threw himself face forward on the -grass, and was sobbing as if his heart would break, and Tom gave a -long sigh of relief, for he knew the evil spirit had departed. He -suffered Jack to cry for quite a long time. At last he bent over -him, and touched him on the shoulder. - -"Sit up, Jack. Suppose we have a talk, and see what's gone wrong -with you?" - -"I can't," said Jack, still hiding his face. "I feel such a beast." - -"But I want to find out what's making you feel like that." - -"And you'll hate me for ever and ever," said Jack, disclosing one -scarlet eye. - -"God forbid," said Tom, solemnly. - -"I didn't mean to tell--a lie"--Jack's tongue stumbled over the -disgraceful word--"I thought you'd be angry with me for smoking and I -said I wasn't, all in a hurry, but I _wish_ I hadn't." - -"So do I," interposed Tom. - -"But you can have it, you can have 'em all," and Jack rose to his -feet and fumbled in both his pockets, producing a dirty little pocket -handkerchief, with which he mopped his eyes, a ball of twine, which -he threw impatiently on the ground, and finally a box of matches and -a half-smoked cigarette. He handed the cigarette and the matches to -Tom with a shaking hand, who put them into his own pocket. - -"Now tell me how you got it?" - -"I bought 'em out of my pocket money." - -"Then you've smoked before?" - -"Yes, four times, but it made me--rather ill. I wanted to smoke -until the chaps at school could see I could. They said I was a kid -and couldn't. I wanted 'em to see I could do the same as they did." - -"It seems to me you've been an uncommonly silly little boy, not a bit -better than a monkey that tries to copy all its companions' silly -tricks. Nothing seems to me quite so ridiculous as a boy who tries -to be a man before his time, and it's wrong as well. You can spoil -the splendid health and body God has given you by beginning to smoke -too soon. And do the big boys you are so anxious to copy tell lies, -too, and cheat at lessons? Are you learning that as well?" - -Jack quivered as if Tom had hit him. - -"I haven't lied until now. I wish you'd beat me." - -Instead, Tom caught him in his arms, and held him fast a minute. - -"Thank God for that. At least we can thank Him for that, that it is -your first, and, let us trust, your last lie. I could not love or -trust a boy whose word I could not believe, but you've got out of the -right road, boy, and you must come back again. You've altered -strangely from the little boy I left behind me." - -"I've grown big," said Jack, a little resentfully. - -"Yes, and you fancy yourself much bigger than you are. Lots of -little things tell me that, although I only came back last night. -You've thrown over your chum, you are troublesome to Aunt Betty, you -fancy yourself too big for Sunday School--as if we were ever, any of -us, too big to go on learning how to serve and please God! You've -got to relearn that you're just a little boy, who, if he ever means -to be of any good in the world and be a real man, must learn first -himself to be obedient, brave; and truthful, and must keep his own -course straight, however crooked other boys may go. Have you -forgotten about your Confirmation, Jack? You were keen about it when -I went away." - -"I don't care so much about it now." - -"What has made you change your mind?" - -"Dick Chambers says it's all silly rot, only fit for girls, and does -them no good. Mr. Curtis came after him and asked him about it, and -he said he would not go to the classes for anything." - -"Humph, and you'd rather take Dick Chambers' opinion than Mr. -Curtis's, or mine, or Aunt Betty's. But we can leave the matter of -your Confirmation alone at present. Come along, now, and take me -over the farm, and show me all the changes since I went away." - -Jack obeyed the summons readily enough. It was an enormous relief to -talk of something else, and something of the misery of the morning -faded in the fascination of Tom's companionship, but as they finally -neared the house Jack drew back a little. - -"Uncle Tom, shall you tell Aunt Betty?" - -"No, the telling is yours, not mine." - -"Whom must I tell?" - -"God first and ask Him to forgive you, and your father, and ask him -the same thing." - -Jack winced. "Write it down; write down that I've smoked and told a -lie?" - -"Yes, put it down in black and white and look at it. It will make -you remember, and I don't fancy you will do either again." - -The letter to father was written next day, and Jack drank his cup of -humiliation to the dregs as he handed the letter, as usual, to Aunt -Betty with a crimson face. - -"You can read it if you like," he said. - -"You'll be very sorry to hear that I've told a lie and smoked four -cigarettes, but I promise faithfully not to do it any more. Uncle -Tom said I must tell you and God." - -Betty laughed and cried over that letter at the same time, and -thanked God that Uncle Tom had come back just in time to bring little -Jack to repentance. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A BUSH TOUR - -Tom did not propose to spend his four or five weeks of holiday in -idleness. Whilst making his sister's house his headquarters, he -determined to revisit such places as lay within reach, and would -start off with his knapsack on his back, taking a two or three days' -tour at a time. - -"Why can't I walk with you?" Jack asked one day, wistfully. "I'm -ever so strong on my legs!" - -"Not strong enough for that," said Tom, but it set him thinking what -to do to brighten Jack's holiday. The boy was manfully doing his -best; had reinstated himself in Eva's good graces by a renewal of -friendship and a demand for her companionship, but having tasted the -strong drink of the fellowship of boys there was no question that to -go back to a girl playmate was a little like sipping milk and water. -His manner to Aunt Betty changed from the confiding affection of -infancy to an obedient deference that she found distinctly -attractive, for Uncle Tom was constantly impressing upon him by -precept and example, that all women should command gentleness and -respect from the masculine sex, so that not again had Betty to -complain of rude answers or disobedience. What had passed between -Jack and Tom she could only dimly guess, but the result of Tom's -treatment was entirely satisfactory. - -One morning Tom presented himself at the farm quite early in the day. - -"I've a plan to unfold, and I want your consent before I speak to -Jack about it," he said. He had followed Betty to the dairy where -she was busy among her milk pans, and stood leaning against the -door-post. - -"Your treatment of him proves so entirely salutary that you have my -consent before I even guess what your plan may be," she said, looking -up at him with smiling eyes. - -"That's good hearing. I have hired a horse for a week, and am going -to take a riding tour to various townships and outlying farms that -are beyond my reach on foot, and I should like to take Jack with me. -Is there any pony on the farm that he could borrow?" - -"Father has let him ride Tim lately. Tim has quieted with age, and -though still full of spirit, seldom indulges in tricks. I don't know -if the pony could be spared for so long, but it would be so big a joy -to Jack that I feel as if father is certain to consent." - -"Where may your father be found? I'll go and ask him. I want to get -off quickly while the day is fairly cool. Meanwhile, will you put up -in Jack's school knapsack such things as are absolutely needful for a -few days' bush riding? Make it as light as you can." - -"You are accepting father's consent as a foregone conclusion." - -"I think so; it's his own fault that I do so. He never yet has -refused me anything I've asked." - -Jack was nearly wild with joy when, half-an-hour later, he and Tom -were trotting down the green lane side by side. He turned in his -saddle to wave his cap to Eva and her mother who stood watching their -departure from the gate, then settled himself in his seat with a -quivering sigh of enjoyment. - -"It's just splendid of you to have thought of it. Just think of -riding with you for a whole week. I wish it were for ever and ever." - -Tom laughed over Jack's enthusiasm. "I expect we should both get -pretty tired of it and of each other then, Jack." - -"I shouldn't," declared Jack, stoutly, putting Tim into a canter. -"I'd never be tired of being with you. You're the jolliest grown-up -I've ever seen except father. I'd like to stay with you until I can -go to him. It's queer he doesn't want me now. I keep on telling him -in every letter how big I am. Where are we going to first?" - -"I propose to ride first to Jessie's home. We shall drop in there -just about dinner-time." - -"How jolly! We've seen her several times since we saw you. She -comes down here about once a year. She's left Wylmington School ever -so long, and has gone as second teacher in a girls' school in -Launceston, so I don't expect we'll find her." - -"You forget it will be her holiday time too. I often hear from her, -and she seems to have grown quite strong." - -"Yes, and Aunt Betty says she's pretty," said Jack, who had no -opinion of his own about girls' looks at present. - -The ride for the first eight miles was entirely normal, along -beautifully engineered roads which climbed ever up and up by zig-zag -courses through the hill forests to Wylmington. Beyond were the -falls which in summer-time were a favourite resort for picnic -parties, but, leaving them to the right, Tom followed one of the bush -roads bearing to the left, which was nothing more than a cart track, -in some places almost overgrown, and in others, where more clearing -had been done, opened out into a glorious view of surrounding hills. -As they rode along Tom told Jack of his experience the last time he -had passed that way in a gale of wind and rain, and how he had been -weather-bound for the night at Woodlands, Jessie's home. - -"We won't stop there to-night, will we?" asked Jack, whose one idea -was to put as great a distance between himself and home as possible. - -"Oh, no, I want to get on to the next homestead, about ten miles -further on, but it will be slow going, as there is little more than a -bridle-track to travel by, and we could easily lose our way." - -"What fun! I hope we shall." - -"I don't," said Tom. "It's no laughing matter to be lost in the -bush. It's a very lonesome spot we are going to, and we shall -probably sleep in a shakedown in the barn." - -Jack gave a joyous laugh of anticipation, but here they were in sight -of Woodlands, and he sprang from his pony to open the gate which -separated the home clearing from the bush. Before they rode up to -the door Jessie had caught a glimpse of them and came running towards -them with a radiant face. She had changed from a girl to a young -woman and a pretty young woman too, Tom thought, as he dismounted and -one of the boys came forward to take his horse. - -"We'll off-saddle them for an hour or two if we may," he said, "and -we've counted on Woodlands hospitality to give us something to eat." - -"But of course," cried Jessie joyously. "I told mother that the -feeling in my bones meant something good was to happen to-day, but I -never thought of anything half so good as this." - -Then came the farmer and his wife to welcome their guests. The -family dinner was over and the boys dispersed about the farm, but a -meal of sorts should be ready in a brace of shakes, and the "nipper" -looked ready for it, which the nipper was, for the ride had given him -a hearty appetite. And whilst Jessie flitted to and fro in -hospitable preparation, Tom noticed the stamp of refinement which -illness had left upon her, but there was something more than -refinement written on her face--a certain radiance which he accepted -as the outward manifestation of an inward grace, a heart at peace -with God and all the world. - -"You found the right work for the girl," said the farmer, following -the direction of Tom's eyes. "She just dotes on her teaching, and -gets on well with it. We shall have her up here some day, I expect, -setting us all to rights as school-teacher at Wylmington." - -"Not yet, father," laughed Jessie, shaking her finger at him. "I -want to know ever so much more before I try for a school of my own." - -"And will it be a school in the bush when that time comes?" Tom -asked. "Time was when you did not like the Bush much." - -"I don't know; being away from them all makes you long to be back, -though a town school, where I am now, teaches you a lot about -discipline and such things, but sometimes now I think I'll get back -to the country, where you can get to know all your children and love -them and have care of them out of school as well as in it. And one -can do something for the church in these country places. I'm -learning to play the harmonium, and I could play perhaps on Sundays -when we have service. There's no one to do it now, not even anyone -who can lead the singing. Don't you remember how you said once that -it was a clergyman's work to set the machinery in a place going, the -spiritual machinery, and the work of the people to keep it alive and -active?" - -"Did I say that? You can't expect me to remember all I said four -years ago." - -"But I remember, because you were the first one to talk to me about -the church's order. You said most people left their religion to -chance and odd times, and we ought to be as careful over it as over -our other work." - -"You were an attentive pupil, it seems," said Tom, smiling at her. - -"Because you put things clearly so that I could understand them," -said Jessie simply. "When you went away and I could not talk to you -any more, I wrote down a good many things you said, so as to teach -them to my class in the Sunday School." - -"Then you are a Sunday School teacher?" - -"Oh, yes, for over three years now. I love it best of any of my -teaching, and the Sunday School is all alive where I am now. Here I -found it very difficult to get the children to care." - -Jack had slipped away with Jessie's father to see a fresh brood of -chickens, which gave Tom an opportunity of some talk with Jessie -about her work, but presently he looked at his watch and said they -must be moving on, but, before the horses were re-saddled, Mrs. -Butler insisted upon a cup of tea, and sent them on their way with a -well-filled wallet of provisions in case they got detained upon the -road. - -"_Is_ Jessie pretty?" Jack inquired, as they rode upon their way. - -"Yes, I think she is, but she's more than pretty: she's good." - -"How d'you know?" Jack asked. - -"By her look--goodness, like evil, writes itself upon people's faces, -Jack--by her ways and by her words," said Tom. - -The saying did not altogether please Jack. - -"It's rather horrid people can tell whether you are good or bad by -looking at you," he said. - -"Then you must take care only to do and think such things as will -give you a good face," said Tom, with a little laugh, and then he -began talking about other things. - -How the week sped, a week which Jack was old enough now to look back -upon with pleasure all his days! It was an unusually hot and dry -year for Tasmania, and the sun, beating upon the forests and rich -undergrowth through which they rode day after day, brought out a -pungent fragrance that acted like a tonic, preventing any -consciousness of fatigue. There was a sense of adventure, too, in -travelling by these unknown and little trodden tracks that was quite -delightful to a boy, and delightful also was Tom's companionship, and -in fuller measure came back his old ascendancy over Jack. Before it -had been the affection of a little child, but now it took the form of -a boy's hero-worship, the wish to grow into a man something like -Uncle Tom or father. The mere fact that Tom could turn his hand to -almost anything was a deep source of admiration, from lighting a fire -to shoeing a horse. And Tom on his side grew deeply attached to the -little boy, whose pluck and courage might have belonged to a boy -twice his age, whose interest in all he saw or heard was so -singularly alive, and quite unconsciously his influence for good over -the boy almost every hour of the day was making itself felt. It was -more from what he did than what he said, although with a man like -Tom, whose first object and aim in life was to serve God himself and -to teach others to serve, it was scarcely possible to live with him -many days without some mention of higher things. The mention of such -things might pass unnoticed, but the fact that when they passed one -or two nights in a shed together, Jack saw Tom kneel down and say his -prayers with absorbing earnestness before he crept into his bed of -straw, was an object-lesson Jack could not well forget. And again, -when they woke in the morning, Tom's hand searched in the knapsack -which had served as his pillow for the Testament he always carried -about with him, and he would read aloud to Jack some parable, or -miracle, said or worked by our Lord, and invest it with an entirely -new character, making Jack feel it a reality instead of something -written in an old book that might or might not be true. On the last -morning of their tour, as they sat together on the bole of a huge -forest tree that had been felled and left lying along the ground -until such time as it was carted away, Tom chose for the morning -reading the account in the Acts of the churches that had not yet -received any open manifestation of the Spirit, and of how the -Apostles were sent for to bestow the great gift. - -"And that is what we now call Confirmation, Jack, that is the Bible -teaching about it. I wonder if anyone ever showed Dick Chambers that -passage, or tried to make it clear to him. He might change his mind -about its being all stuff and nonsense." - -Jack coloured a little. - -"But everyone who is confirmed isn't good, Uncle Tom." - -"I don't say they are, Jack; I only tell you it is a great help, a -gift of God that I want every boy and girl baptised in our church to -look forward to and get ready for. If you use a gift it may help you -immensely; if you neglect it or throw it away that is not God's -fault: it's yours." - -Jack did not make any answer; Tom did not know if he even understood, -but from that day forward Jack renewed his determination to be -confirmed some day, when he was old enough, "same as Jessie was." -Perhaps it was Jessie's confirmation that helped to give her a "good -face," in which conjecture there was more truth than little Jack was -aware of. - -And that evening found the companions at home again, Jack very -bronzed and voluble about all his experiences of the different places -they had stayed at, and of the almost wild children they had come -across, of the snakes they had killed in the bush, of their picnic -meals, etc.; but, of the things that had gone deepest, of his talks -with Uncle Tom and of the way Uncle Tom said his prayers, he never -spoke at all. They had sunk too deep to come up to the surface. But -Eva, as he talked to her, bemoaned the fate that, in making her a -girl, cut her off from all these delightful pleasures. - -"Uncle Tom, we ought to have a blow-up for Eva before you go," Jack -said one day soon after their return. "It _is_ rather dull being a -girl, you know. Could not we have a picnic a long way off on -Thursday? It's my birthday; I shall be twelve years old, but we -could pretend it was Eva's." - -Uncle Tom was rather pleased at this budding thoughtfulness for -Jack's chum, and caught readily at the notion. - -"We'll talk to my sister and Aunt Betty and see what can be done," he -said. "Has Eva ever been to Wylmington Falls? If not, we could hire -a brake, get some of the neighbours to join us, and we'll call it -Eva's party." - -The notion caught on like wildfire, and Eva herself was in ecstasies -of delight. She watched every cloudlet that flecked the sky with -grave forebodings lest the longed-for day should prove wet. - -"Not a chance of it," said Uncle Tom. "The farmers are all longing -for rain to save their crops, which bush fires are constantly -destroying," but that rain should fall on Thursday was more than he -or any of the others could wish. And it did not rain! Never was a -more perfect day for a picnic. The families at the farm and the -cottage were early astir, for everybody was coming except Mr. -Treherne, who had to stay behind for the task of looking after the -animals, for it was to be a real long summer holiday, beginning with -dinner directly they arrived, and closing with tea before their -return, which would give the horses a nice long rest. So soon after -eleven the brake started off with Mrs. Kenyon, Mrs. Treherne, Betty, -and all the provisions packed in hampers, and behind came the pony -cart from the farm driven by Tom, with Jack and Eva tucked in by the -side of him, and various other vehicles joined them on the way, -carrying invited guests, so that it was quite a cavalcade that wound -its way along the circuitous road, and there was much laughter and -rivalry as to who should take the lead, and who could keep it, and -for one proud triumphant moment Tom and the pony led the way, to be -superseded very quickly by the brake with its stout pair of horses. -But for the long, long climb at the end, all were reduced to walking, -and many of the passengers got out, amongst them the children, who -plunged into the bush below and above them, bringing back handfuls of -flowers and berries. - -"And this afternoon, Eva, whilst the others are lazing about, you and -I will go blackberrying in the bush. We'll make a surprise for Aunt -Betty, who'll be awfully pleased when we bring back a lot of berries -ready for jam," said Jack magnanimously, determined to make the day -altogether delightful for Eva. - -"How lovely!" said Eva. "Don't forget we're to keep it a secret. No -one shall guess what we mean to do." - -But now the carriages had turned into the rough track which led to -the famous falls, whose nearness proclaimed itself by a distant roar -of falling water, a sound which mingled with the swirl of the river -under the bridge they had just driven over. - -A quarter of a mile through the green overgrown track brought them to -a large clearing, where open sheds had been built for the special -benefit of picnicers, where a general halt was called, and whilst the -men busied themselves in taking out their horses and giving them a -rub down before securing them in the sheds, the women and children -collected fuel for the fire, but Jack and Eva, fascinated by the -sound of the falling water, stole off hand in hand to obtain a nearer -view of the Falls. Arched over their heads was a long avenue of tree -ferns, under their feet the rocks and stones which the winter floods -brought with them, but now the river had withdrawn to its natural -bed, and an exquisite undergrowth of flowers and maidenhair fern -concealed the roughness of the way. More than once Eva would have -lost her footing but for Jack's hand, but at last they reached the -point where they could obtain their first full view of the falls, -three separate cascades of foaming, sparkling water growing greater -and stronger in its fall, until it lost itself in the turbulent river -below. - -"One would not have much chance if one fell in," said Jack. - -"No, it's lovely, but it frightens me and makes me giddy to look at -it. Take me back to the others," Eva answered. - -Jack longed to linger, longed to scale the rough ladders set against -the hill, which would lead him up to the higher falls, but the day -was Eva's, and he turned and gave her his hand. - -"It's a dreadful pity you're not a boy," was all he said. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -A NARROW ESCAPE - -After the mid-day meal people agreed to separate and go their several -ways. A goodly number proposed to climb up to the second and third -falls, an impossible feat until lately, when the touring club had -provided upright fixed ladders to scale the most inaccessible places, -but the ladders were steep and slippery with damp, and it was only -the younger and more venturesome of the party who proffered for the -excursion. - -"I shall want to take a few snapshots. They tell me the falls, -viewed from the top, are simply magnificent," said Tom, slinging his -camera across his shoulders. "Jack, you shall come with us. I'll -answer for your safety," with a kindly hand laid on the boy's -shoulder. - -"I can't unless Eva is going too. I've promised to be with her this -afternoon, as it's her day, you know." - -"Eva!" laughed Eva's mother. "Eva won't go, will you, pussy? She's -the most arrant little coward in the world, but, encouraged by Betty, -I mean to venture, Tom, and it will take all your time to look after -me. Betty can look after herself." - -"I should think so," said Betty, with fine scorn. "I should be -ashamed of myself if I needed help to climb a few ladders." - -It was with eyes of longing regret that Jack watched the party start -off through the aisle of tree ferns and heard their merry voices -gradually dying away in the distance, but Eva's hand tugged at his. - -"It was just splendid of you, Jack, to stay with me instead of going -with them, and now, as mother and Aunt Betty are gone, we need ask no -one's leave to go off by ourselves." - -"Of course not," said Jack, a little shortly, still smarting with the -pain of refusal. "I'm big enough to take care of a girl half your -age." - -Mrs. Treherne and various other matrons drew out their work and their -books and settled themselves on a green oasis not far from the river, -where they could catch a glimpse of it as it rushed in headlong -impetuosity towards the valleys below, and the children slipped away -through the trees towards the bridge which they must recross on their -way to the bush track which Jack had traversed with Tom only a few -days ago. - -"But how lovely this is!" said Eva, peering into the recesses of the -bush on either side. "We can pretend that all sorts of things are -happening; that we've lost our way, you and I, and--and--the best of -pretending things is that you've all the fun of things happening and -never get frightened. We might pretend that it was night, and that -we'd had nothing to eat all day." - -But Jack, a matter-of-fact schoolboy, whose days of pretending were -over, had little patience with all these fancies. - -"But where's the good of pretending when we aren't lost, and when -we've had tons to eat? I'll tell you what isn't pretence. If you -went on along this track through a big clearing which we shall come -to presently, you would reach Woodlands, Jessie's home." - -"Could we get there?" said Eva excitedly. "I'd rather see Jessie -than gather cartloads of blackberries." - -"That's the worst of girls," retorted Jack. "You never know what -they want! Which would you _really_ rather do--get blackberries or -go to Jessie, for it's flat we can't do both?" - -Eva hesitated, moving restlessly from one foot to the other. - -"Well, speak up! blackberries or Jessie? for, if you choose Jessie, -we've no time to lose. It's a goodish distance." - -"Could I walk it?" - -"Yes, I think you could." - -"Well, then, let's make for Jessie. She _will_ be surprised to see -us, more surprised even than when you went with Uncle Tom, because, -you see, you were on horseback, and I'm only on my legs. She'll -wonder how on earth I got there," and Eva gave an anticipatory -chuckle at the thought of the astonishment her appearance would -create. - -It was rough walking through the bush, and Eva's legs began to ache a -little. - -"Is it a great deal further, Jack?" - -"We're only about half way there. I believe we'd better go back, -though we shall look rather fools having done neither one thing nor -the other," but the suggestion of turning back did not please his -companion. - -"Let's rest a little, and then I'll get on all right. There's heaps -of time before us," so they sat with their backs supported against -the trunk of a tree, whilst Jack told stories of his late -experiences. At last he sprang to his feet. - -"And now if we mean to get there at all this afternoon," he said, "we -must be getting on, unless you would rather go back." - -"No, I'll go on; Jessie will be so surprised," reiterated Eva, and -the children little knew that the decision, made so lightly, possibly -saved both their lives. As they neared the clearing which was only -about a mile and a half from Jessie's home, Jack became aware of a -distant fitful roar that he could only imagine was the rising of the -wind before a coming storm, and wondered within himself what he could -do with Eva in such a predicament. - -"The sun's gone in and the sky's all copper-coloured," said Eva, as -they emerged into open country, "I believe it's going to thunder;" -but Jack's quick eyes, glancing towards the horizon, saw flames -partially concealed by smoke leaping and dancing through the bush, -and knew that for the first time in his life he was within reach of a -bush fire. He had watched many a one with delight from the safe -distance of his grandfather's farm, but to see one racing towards -him, urged on by a wind behind, was a wholly different matter, and it -was the far-off roar of flames that he had heard, and even Jack's -brave little heart quailed before the danger which threatened them, -but it was of Eva's safety that he thought rather than his own, and -the sense of responsibility weighed heavily upon him. - -[Illustration: THEY RACED ALONG HAND IN HAND. p. 131] - -Two courses seemed open to him; either to turn back or to push on at -all possible speed towards Woodlands, and once more he turned to see -which direction the fire was taking, and was alarmed to find that -retreat was impossible, for the wind was carrying the flames along -the forest of ringed trees and dried undergrowth through which they -had just come at such terrific speed that long before they could get -back by the way they had come they would be caught in the flames. -Not only so, but the whole fire was widening its course, creeping -across the clearing to the half-felled wood on the other side, -licking up everything that came in its way, so that they stood in a -half circle of fire, and might find themselves surrounded unless -fleetness of foot and coolness of brain could save them. - -All this flashed through Jack's brain with the rapidity of lightning. - -"Eva," he said, speaking as quietly as he could, "we must hurry up a -bit; that fire is coming our way. Give us your hand! We must get -along as fast as ever we can." - -But Eva stood stock still, looking round with eyes dilated with -terror. - -"Take me back, Jack! Oh! how I wish we had never come." - -"We can't get back," Jack answered with a little thrill in his voice. -"You mustn't cry, Eva! There's no time to cry. Be a brick, do as I -tell you, and _don't be afraid_! We'll get through all right." - -Something of Jack's high courage gave Eva fresh heart, and they raced -along hand in hand, but Jack though he spoke cheerily, was fully -aware of their danger; the roaring of the fire drew ever nearer and -nearer; clouds of smoke and sparks flew close on their heels, and the -glowing heat of the wind was making itself felt very unpleasantly. - -Presently Eva released the hand that dragged her along with a gasp. - -"I can't, I can't," she cried, with sobbing breath. "I can't run -another yard." - -"You'll get your second wind in a minute," said Jack, almost in -despair. "Look here!"--sinking on to his knees. "Climb up, climb up -I say. I'll carry you on my back," and almost before she knew what -he did he had hoisted her on to his shoulders, but with all the will -in the world it was only for a very short distance that he could -carry her. The perspiration was dripping from his head and face, and -Eva saw it and knew he was nearly played out. - -"Let me down," she said, struggling to free herself. "My breath is -coming back. I'll run again now." - -"All right," Jack said, slipping her gently to the ground. "Keep -your pecker up! We shall beat the old fire yet! D'you see that it's -coming up slowly this way and turning away from where Woodlands is -yonder? Another few minutes, if we can keep up the pace, we'll be -out of its reach," so half walking, half running, they hurried on -again, casting fearful glances backwards and around to see if the -flames were gaining ground. Presently Jack threw up his arms with a -wild hurrah. - -"We're through, Eva, we're through all right! I hear the cries of -the beaters fighting back the flames," and true enough, at some -distance from them were the farmer and his sons and a neighbour or -two who had hurried to the rescue, beating back the flames which, -snake-like, were creeping insidiously along towards the farmer's -crops. - -All danger of being surrounded now by the fire was over, and the -wayworn travellers proceeded more leisurely to the homestead, which -was close at hand, but as Jack's fingers wrestled with the latch of -the gate, he found them trembling so much as to be almost beyond -control. They were scarcely inside it, before Mrs. Butler and -Jessie, who stood watching the progress of the fire in the verandah, -recognised them and hurried down to meet them. - -"Jack! Eva!" cried Jessie, and the surprise in her tone was even -greater than Eva had pictured it, but the poor child was far too worn -out with fatigue and excitement to understand anything but that she -was with friends and in a place of safety. She threw out her arms to -Jessie with a little cry, and the next moment was sobbing her very -heart out on her shoulder. - -"But where do you come from?" asked Mrs. Butler, looking down on -Jack's quivering face. - -"From Wylmington Falls. We came up there--a lot of us--for a picnic, -and it suddenly came into our heads, Eva's and mine, that we'd walk -on and pay you a surprise visit, but we've been racing the fire, and -she's about done for." - -"Poor lamb! Give her to me," said Mrs. Butler, stretching out her -arms for Eva. "The child is half dead with terror and fatigue. -We'll put her to bed at once, and she'll sleep it off." - -But a fresh terror presented itself to Jack's mind. What would those -they had left behind them think of their non-appearance? Aunt Betty -was not one to make a fuss, but if he and Eva did not come that -night, Jack, boy as he was, guessed something of the pain she would -endure, and there was Eva's mother as well. Something must be done -to let them know that they were safe, but what did not yet appear. - -* * * * * - -The party at the falls were detained much longer than they expected -on their climb. First one or two of them were anxious to obtain the -very best possible views of the upper cascades, and their companions -were quite willing to rest whilst the photographers were at work, and -then, in descending from the topmost fall, Clarissa slipped, -wrenching her ankle rather severely, and first handkerchiefs were -sacrificed to make a bandage, and then it was a matter of real -difficulty to get her down the remainder of the way, so that it was -nearly two hours before the company were reassembled for tea. Mrs. -Kenyon, who was in considerable pain, was made as comfortable as -possible in an improvised easy chair of cushions and brake fern, and -the party scattered in different directions, collecting wood for the -fire whilst Tom carried off the billy to the river to fill, in -readiness for tea. - -"Cooey for the children, will you?" said Betty, lifting a hot face -from the fire she was coaxing into ablaze. "The idle rogues should -have had this all ready for us. Jack is a famous boy for a fire." - -So Tom returned to the river, looking up and down its banks for the -children, who he felt sure were not far off, and sent a long cooey -ringing down the water, but no answer came to his call. - -"I can't see them anywhere," he said, returning to Betty. - -"How tiresome of them to have wandered so far. I wonder what -direction they have taken. Mother, did you see Jack and Eva go off -together? Do you know what has become of them?" - -"I fancy I caught sight of them hurrying off towards the bridge," -said another lady. "Jack had a basket slung on his back, so depend -upon it they were in search of berries of sorts. There are a good -many ripening just now in the bush." - -"Here, mother, put in the tea; the billy is boiling," said Betty. -"I'll just run up towards the bridge and have a look for them." - -"I'd come with you if I weren't as lame as a duck," said Clarissa, -"but ever since the bullock incident, I've always felt Eva as safe -with Jack as with a man." - -"I'll come," said Tom. "You shall look in one direction, and I in -another. It's impossible that they can be very far away," and he -took his place at Betty's side. - -"How oppressive the day has become! or is it that I'm hurried, and a -little flurried as well?" Betty said with an uneasy laugh. "I'm not -a nervous woman, but I confess I'm rather frightened at the children -not being here, and I'm blaming myself also for having left them so -long." - -"Depend upon it we shall see them coming over the bridge lugging an -enormous basket of blackberries. Eva was full of importance over -some secret scheme that she and Jack were going to carry out, and it -may have taken longer than they calculated, as our expedition did -this afternoon." - -The commonplace suggestion soothed Betty without quite satisfying -her. Tom threw up his head suddenly, scenting the hot air. - -"The heat is explained also, I think, by the fact that there must be -a bush fire not very far away. I smell the delicious pungency of its -burning, and the coppery look of the clouds veiling the sun suggests -smoke." - -"A bush fire near here," said Betty, turning a white face on him. -"You don't think that by any chance the children have wandered into -the bush and----" her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth, -refusing to voice her fears. - -"Oh, dear no," said Tom ready to bite out his own tongue at having -hinted at the fire. "I feel that they have wandered far down the -river, possibly to some haunt Jack thought a likely one for -blackberries." - -That suggestion did not comfort Betty greatly. What was more likely -than that Eva, venturing too near the river, might have slipped in, -and that Jack and she had drowned together in his effort to save her. -and were they caught in the fire in the bush their fate would be no -less horrible! The fear, kept to herself, was too terrible to bear. - -"I'm frightened," she said, trying to smile off her terror. "I feel -as if something frightful had happened to the children." - -"It's scarcely like you to give way to nerves," Tom said with a -smile. "You go along the road for a little way, and I will follow on -by the river bank. Cooey when you want me to come back;" but he -could not smother his own anxiety as he scrambled along. - -Presently he heard a long cooey, and cooeyed an answer with a sense -of triumph. - -"And here we've been full of fears, like a couple of grandmothers, -and she's found them coming back like a pair of puppies, a little -ashamed of themselves for having run away," he said, with a joyous -little laugh, but it was Betty alone he saw crossing the bridge when -he arrived there. - -"I thought surely you were bringing them with you." - -"I've found--this," Betty said, holding out a large white ribbon bow. -"It's Eva's bow." - -"And where?" - -"At the turning which leads to the bush." - -Their eyes met for a moment. "That, at any rate, gives us some clue -as to where to look for them. We ought to be thankful for the bow -and its message." - -"What message?" asked Betty. - -"That they are safe somewhere, I feel certain of it. I was more -frightened by the river than the bush. Strayed children can be -found." - -The sound of wheels from behind them made them look round, and they -saw that already some of their party were on their homeward way. - -"What are you about, you two?" said the man, drawing rein with a -good-natured laugh. "Tea will be over and done with before you get -back. I've got to be back with my missus to look after the farm. -I'd advise you to hurry up if you don't want to miss your rations," -and before they could answer, or explain the cause of their delay, he -had whipped up his horses and had passed on his way, the grating -sound of the brakes dying out in the distance. - -"We must get back and tell them," said Betty, "and then we must set -about a systematic search. I'm thankful those people did not stop to -learn what was the matter." - -Neither spoke as they hurried back to their companions. Clarissa -Kenyon's terror when she heard the children were lost was absolutely -ungovernable in its expression. - -"Lost!" she cried. "And you two stand here and do nothing?" - -She tried to get on to her feet, but the pain in her ankle made her -sink back into her seat with a little cry. - -"We will do all we can," said Tom quietly, "and we have some little -clue in Eva's ribbon." - -Clarissa snatched it from him, and covered it with kisses. - -"Joseph's coat, Joseph's coat," she said wildly. "Some evil has -befallen the child as it had befallen him. Ah! what will become of -me if I am to lose her?" - -Betty knelt beside her with her arms round her. - -"We must neither say it nor think it," she said. "Your brother and I -and one or two others are off in search of them. Mother, will you -and Clarissa go home? It's quite impossible that you can stay here." - -"I shall stay whatever happens," said Clarissa. "Is it likely I -shall go whilst Eva's fate hangs in the balance?" - -"But it doesn't hang," said a husky voice from behind. "It's because -I knew you'd be in such a funk about her that I've come," and there -advanced into the circle a boy with grimed face and torn clothes that -only those who knew him best could recognize as Jack. - -"Jack! Jack!" cried Betty, throwing her arms about him, and her -enormous feeling of relief found vent in hysterical laughter. - -Questions poured in on the boy from every side. - -"Where had he come from, where was Eva?" etc., but Tom, watching -Jack's face paling under its grime, knew him fairly played out. - -"Eva is with Jessie," was all he could gasp out, and he would have -fallen to the ground but that Tom's arms caught him and laid him down -gently on a bed of fern. - -"Give him air and space and a drink of water. His story can wait -till later. It's enough to know they are safe." - -Tom's intervention saved Jack from fainting, and in a few minutes he -was able to relate what had occurred. - -"And when Eva was put to bed," he said, "I ran off to join the -beaters, but I found the fire had swept on, taking a different -course, so there was no need for further alarm. Then I sneaked off -on my own to see if there was a chance of getting back to you, and I -got through somehow." - -"Came through the bush?" said Tom. "It was a horrible risk." - -"But someone had to come, and I found a place where the fire had not -caught on much, and I made a dash for it and dodged it, racing from -tree to tree. No, I've not a burn on me. The soles of my boots are -scorched and my clothes half off my back, because I could not stop to -pick my way, and the fire had only penetrated quite a narrow way into -the bush. The puzzle was when I came to the far side of it to find -the track. I should have been here quicker else." - -"But you found it all right at last." - -"Yes, I found it safe enough. That's why I wanted to get off whilst -it was daylight. Even with a moon I should have lost my way." - -"But what of those left behind?" - -Jack made a little grimace. "I never thought of them, only of you, -but it's different, isn't it? Eva's all right. She'll sleep as -sound as a top till the morning, and for the rest, I don't belong to -them as I do to Aunt Betty." - -"No, no," said Clarissa Kenyon, seizing one of Jack's hands, and -laying her soft cheek against it. "They will only wonder vaguely -what has become of you, but my heart was breaking, Jack, breaking -with the fear that I had lost my little Eva. God bless you for -bringing me the news of her safety." - -Jack drew away his hand uneasily as her tears fell on it, and tried -to rub it clean. - -"Come along, Jack, come down to the river and have a wash and a comb -up before we start for home," said Aunt Betty, in her matter-of-fact -way, but Jack never guessed that her heart was thumping against her -ribs with joy and pride in the boy who was ready to go through fire -or water if he thought that duty demanded it of him, and her pride -found its lawful expression later when she found herself alone with -Tom for a minute. - -"Yes," he answered with quiet satisfaction. "He promises to turn -into a boy that his father will be proud of one day." - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -GOING HOME - -"Jack," called Betty, a few days afterwards, "come in a minute. I -want to speak to you." - -Jack passed in rapid review his conduct of the last few days, and -decided that there was nothing Aunt Betty could want to lecture him -about, and yet the brevity of the summons sounded like the preface to -a lecture. He came up the paddock rather reluctantly. - -"Well," he said, joining her in the verandah, but not sitting down. -"Don't keep me long, there's a dear. I'm making an aeroplane, and -it's frightfully exciting." - -"But I think the news I have for you will be frightfully exciting -too," she said smiling at him. - -Jack's eyes shone like stars. "Is it that father's coming?" - -Betty's heart smote her that she had raised the boy's hope so high -only to dash it again. - -"Not quite so exciting as that, but something that will get you more -ready to go to England. Father wants you to go to school in -Melbourne, a boys' school that Uncle Tom knows about, and thinks a -good one. Father is very anxious that you should be working hard now -so that you will be able to take your place with other boys of your -age when you go home." - -Jack seized his cap from his head and sent it spinning into the air -with a whoop of triumph. - -"I should say it just was exciting! Why, Aunt Betty, it's glorious." - -His delight was so natural, that Betty would not dim it by any -expression of personal regret. Besides, although she did not tell -Jack this, his father's decision was the result of her own advice. -She did not consider that the experiment of sending him to the State -school had answered. He was too well known to every boy in the -place, and was contracting acquaintances she did not care for him to -make, and imitating follies that were by no means harmless, and she -believed a complete change of companionship would be better for him -and for his progress in learning. She knew that Captain Stephens was -making not only a name but some money by his inventive skill and -mastership of aircraft, and that it was his full intention to give -Jack a good education, so she had written some months back suggesting -the change of school and saying that she believed her influence over -Jack stood a better chance of making itself felt when he was away -from her and constantly in need of her than now, when more than half -his time was spent out of her sight, and when her presence at home -was so completely a matter of course that he scarcely realised its -value. And from Jack's father had come an entirely reassuring -answer. No mother could have his little son's interests more -entirely at heart than Betty, and he was quite willing to accept her -judgment, and that of the man who had acted the part of a kind and -wise elder brother to Jack, and to send him to the school Tom Chance -recommended. - -"And you need not worry about ways and means. Let Jack have a proper -school outfit. You will know what he needs better than I. It was -certainly my wish at first that he should remain with you at all -hazards until I could come and fetch him, but the time has been -longer than I at first expected, and I quite see the force of your -argument that he shall be able to take his proper standing with other -boys of his age on his return, and possibly the education of a State -school would hardly prepare him for this. Is it asking too much that -Tom Chance will keep an eye to him as regards religious matters? A -boy's first plunge into school life is an important era in his life. -I'm not sure that Mr. Chance is still in the colony, but if you are -in touch with him tell him what I feel about it." - -All this was running through Betty's mind as she listened to Jack's -outpouring of delight. - -"And when am I going, Aunt Betty?" - -"Next term if you can be taken in. I've already written to the -head-master about you, for this has been in our heads for some time, -although I could not mention it to you until I knew father's -decision. Now I see no reason why you should not travel back to -Melbourne under Uncle Tom's care." - -Jack fairly danced with joy. - -"I'm off, Aunt Betty; I'm off to find Uncle Tom, and to tell Eva. -She'll mind rather much, I fancy, but I'll tell her she can write to -me if she likes, and I'll answer as I get time," and away he flew, -leaving Betty half amused and half heart-sore. - -"A budding lord of creation," she said to Tom later in the day when -he came to talk matters over with her. - -"Women and girls find their right place in looking after him." - -The words were playful, but there was an under-lying sadness in them. - -"It's partly the fault of the women and the girls who spoil boys and -men, isn't it? But there's scarcely one amongst us but owns in his -secret heart that all that is noble in him he owes to the influence -of some good woman--a mother, a sister, or an aunt--and Jack, come to -man's estate, will look back and call Aunt Betty's name blessed." - -Tears stood in Betty's eyes, but her smile was sweet and tender. - -"If that prophecy comes true, I shall consider that life has been -worth living," she said. - -"Let us hope that there may be other causes by that time which will -make your life very much worth living; others who will need you even -more than little Jack, a husband, perhaps, and--children of your own." - -The colour mounted to Betty's face flooding it from brow to chin, -then faded leaving her deadly pale. Tom was standing over her -looking down on her with a smile that told her more clearly than any -words that he loved her, that the husband his imagination pictured -was himself. - -"Betty," he said, using her Christian name for the first time, "I did -not mean to speak yet. I meant to wait until I am recalled to -England and have a likelihood of a home to offer you, but your regret -at losing your Jack led me on. Should I do, can you think of me as -the husband? Betty, my dear, my whole heart cries out to you, I love -you so. I don't know when it began, but I almost think it was the -first day we ever met, and you caught me at cricket. It will be the -biggest blow of my life if you catch me out now. Betty, my sweet -one, what answer will you give me? My whole happiness hangs on it. -Is it yes, or no?" - -Betty looked into his face with a tremulous smile, put out her hands -to him, and the next moment was clasped in his arms. - -"My darling," he said, as he reverently kissed her, "you shall never -have cause to regret your decision." - -In the first few moments of their tumultuous happiness neither wished -to speak; it was enough for Betty to feel Tom's arm round her, and to -know that she was his for evermore, his helpmeet, sharing his home -and work, the one man in the world she had ever loved, for a pretty -helpful girl like Betty had had other men who wished to marry her, -but not one of them had even set her pulses beating, much less -suggested himself as her husband, but now she had entered her -kingdom! Was ever girl quite as happy as she was at this moment? - -Later on they talked of their future. Tom had mapped out work that -would take him about two years to carry through, and then he meant to -go home. - -"And you will come with me, Betty darling, come with me as my wife," -he said joyously. "I wonder if you realise what you are doing in -marrying me. It's rather like catching a lark and shutting it up in -a close dark cage, for my work will lie in some slum parish probably, -where sorrow and sin will close you in on every side, and after your -free country-life out here, you will feel choked by it often and -often." - -"I daresay I shall, but--I shall have you," said Betty, simply. -"Shall we go and tell mother?" - -Mr. and Mrs. Treherne's consent was a foregone conclusion, and -separation from their only daughter being as yet a thing in the -distance, left them free now to rejoice in her happiness. Ted's -congratulations when he came in from the farm were rather less hearty. - -"It's rather a mean trick to play," he said. "You had all England to -choose from, and you come out here and want to carry off our Betty, -and there's not a girl who can hold a candle to her in all the -colony, is there, mother?" - -"Not one," said Mrs. Treherne, giving the hand she held a squeeze. - -"And that's the very reason why I want to take her home when the time -comes," said Tom with a happy laugh. "I want them to see the kind of -girl the colony can produce. I don't underrate her, Ted." - -"I won't stay and be discussed as if I wasn't here," said Betty, -blushing a little. "Ought not we to go and see Clarissa, Tom?" so -they walked off together down the paddock, hand-in-hand. - -"And that's how they'll walk off one day for good and all," said Ted, -watching them moodily from the verandah. "Hang it all, mother. I -wonder you can take it so quietly. Why can't she marry some man in -the colony, and stay in the land she belongs to? They will only look -down upon her in England," but that fired Mrs. Treherne into speech. - -"Look down on her! Look down on my Betty! Isn't it because I know -that to Tom she is the one woman in all the world that I give my -consent to his carrying her away? But don't rub it in, Ted," and her -tone was a little weary. "She's not going yet for a year or two, and -every mother has to face the fact that the young ones she has reared -and loved will fly off sometime and make nests of their own. It's -God's law, and there is no escaping it." - -Ted bent and brushed his bronzed cheek against hers. - -"No fear, mother. There's one who will stick by the old birds, and -keep their nest warm and dry for them," he said gruffly, and stirred -by an unusual emotion he strolled off to the farm and solaced himself -with a pipe. - -Meanwhile no explanations were necessary with Clarissa. She just -glanced at the smiling faces, saw the clasped hands, and burst into a -laugh. - -"So it's settled at last," she said, her own hands closing over their -clasped ones, "but the wonder to me is why you have been so long -about it, for you've known your own minds long enough. Betty, my -dear, you're a lucky woman." - -"As if I didn't know it," protested Betty, as Clarissa kissed her. - -"But I remember your telling me almost the first night I came that -you should like a sister just like Betty," Tom grumbled. - -"So I did, so I do, but all the same I call her a lucky sister in -marrying you," and with that assertion Betty was well content. - -"Shall you tell the children?" Clarissa asked later. - -"Oh yes," Betty said. "I never see the use of making mysteries out -of things that are clear and true as daylight, and to Jack it will -make no difference. He claimed Tom as his uncle long ago. Where are -they, Clarissa? Jack rushed off here in great excitement to tell the -news of his going to school, and I have not seen him since." - -"They are in the garden, I think. Eva is full of lamentation that -she was not born a boy, so that she might go to school with Jack, but -he comforts her by reminding her that she would be in a lower form, -and would see little of him!" - -"He's a little beyond himself; he'll come back to his bearings -directly," Tom said. "It's the first event of importance that has -come to him. Come, Betty; we will find them." - -They sat side by side in the swing, their heads close together deep -in conversation, but at sight of Aunt Betty and Tom, Jack sprang to -the ground and came rushing towards them. - -"Uncle Tom, has Aunt Betty told you? Do you know I'm going to -school?" - -"Yes, I know that and something else which makes me very glad, -happier than I've ever been in all my life." - -"What?" asked Jack and Eva in chorus. - -"That some day, when I go home, Aunt Betty will marry me, and go home -with me as my wife. That's a big bit of news, isn't it, Jack?" - -Eva laughed and clapped her hands, but Jack stood looking from Tom to -Aunt Betty, with a slight air of bewilderment. - -"Then she'll stay with you for ever and ever?" he said. - -"I hope so, Jack," said Tom, with a little laugh. - -"And you'll be my real uncle, not a pretence one?" - -"Yes," said Tom again. - -"Then I'm jolly glad, and oh, Aunt Betty," fresh light dawning on -him, "it will mean that I'll have you always too the same as I do -now. I think I'm almost as glad as Uncle Tom," and forgetful of his -boyish dignity his arms closed round her neck in a rapturous hug, and -Betty, as she held him fast, felt no congratulation on her engagement -was quite so dear and sweet as his. - -* * * * * - -The days would have dragged heavily after Jack's departure but for -the new great happiness which filled Betty's heart to overflowing. -Tom had taken Jack to school and installed him there, a very good -school Tom told her, with a wholesome religious basis, where "Jack -will get such teaching as you and his father would wish him to have," -Tom wrote, and Betty was content in this, as in all things, to rely -upon Tom's judgment. - -Months passed by, Jack came for his first holidays full of his -school-mates, and, what pleased Betty more, very full of his work. - -He was developing rather an extraordinary turn for mathematics and -mechanics, and spent most of his recreation time in the workshop -attached to his school, intent upon models of various sorts, and -Betty rejoiced and sympathised with his hobby. It was all helping to -get him ready for his future work. - -Meanwhile, as the months ran into years, Betty went on quite quietly -and contentedly with her own work--her preparations for her marriage -which she now knew not to be far distant. Had not Tom said he would -come to fetch her in about two years? The dainty garments she -fashioned were finished one by one and laid by in a box which she -named her glory box. - -"For it is a glory, mother, to be loved by a man like Tom," she said. - -"Then my gift shall be the household linen," said Mrs. Treherne, and -side by side with the glory box there stood a large chest which -received Mrs. Treherne's contributions as they were folded and marked -in readiness for Betty's marriage. - -And true to his promise when the two years were nearly completed Tom -wrote a letter, almost incoherent in its happiness, to tell her he -was coming to claim his own. - -"I shall bring Jack along with me, for, as you know, his holidays -will be due, and the dear boy is looking forward with sober happiness -to his Confirmation day. I always promised to be present at it if I -were still in the Colony, and the Bishop, I hear, holds one at -Wallaroo about the 21st of December. Jack's preparation has been a -careful one, and by his letters to me I think his mind is fully made -up to continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant unto his life's -end. He had his choice of being confirmed in the cathedral at -Melbourne, when some other lads from his school received the laying -on of hands, but he wrote that he would rather wait for the -Confirmation in his own little church at home, 'when you and Aunt -Betty will be there with me.' I thought it sweet of the boy, but, -indeed, my Betty, I think Jack will turn into a boy you will have -every cause to be proud of." - -And the post which brought that letter brought another which was -almost as important. Jack's father was coming to take his boy home; -indeed, within a week of the letter's departure he would be on his -way. Pressure of business would make his stay in the colony a short -one, "but I always promised Jack to come and fetch him, and I will -keep my word." - -He gave the name of the liner in which his passage was taken, and the -date when she was due at Melbourne. - -"But mother--it's too delightful," said Betty, looking up from the -letter. "Jack's father is coming and is due in Melbourne on the 18th -or 19th of December. By good luck he should be here on Jack's -Confirmation day. Won't it be beautiful if he is?" - -And through the coming weeks Betty lived on in happy expectation, -wondering what she had done to deserve such happiness. Jack was -coming, and Jack's father, and, what was greater still, her own Tom, -from whom, God willing, she would never again be separated. - -Clarissa had clamoured to make her her wedding gown, but Betty -asserted she did not mean to have one. - -"Tom and I are of one mind," she said. "We think the greatest and -holiest day of our lives shall not be desecrated by flutter and fuss. -I'll be married in a coat and skirt, a white one if you prefer it, -and we mean to have no fuss of any kind, and we want only those -present who love us, and will say their prayers for us. We have not -yet settled the day, but it will be pretty soon after he comes, for -he has marching orders to return to England. He means to take our -passages for about the end of the year. Don't you wish you were -coming too?" - -"No, I don't," said Clarissa, vehemently. "I love this place and its -kind, warm-hearted people, and I love your father and mother, and -mean to make up your loss to them as far as I can. I know it will be -very imperfectly accomplished, but just think of the desolation which -will be theirs when you've left them for good, gone out of their -reach, Betty." - -Tears stood in Betty's eyes. "Yes, I know, and often I wonder at -myself for doing it, and yet--it's not that I love them less than I -ever did, that I don't know what I'm leaving behind me, but if Tom -were going to the uttermost parts of the earth I feel my call to go -with him. I love him better than life itself, Clarissa. Don't you -know what I mean?" - -Clarissa was very white. "Yes, I loved George like that, but, unlike -you, I married without the sanction of my father, and I never felt -that God's blessing followed me as it will follow you, my Betty, -going before and after like the pillar of cloud that guided the -Israelites. It's because I love George so dearly that I don't want -to go home. I want to live and die in the country where we spent our -short married life together." - -On the 16th of December Betty stood in her simple white gown waiting -at the corner of the green lane for the evening coach that was to -bring Tom and Jack from the station, and as she heard the rattle of -the wheels and the sound of the galloping horses breasting the hill, -her own heart beat in joyful sympathy, for her happiness was close at -hand. And almost before the coach stood still, Tom and Jack had -jumped from their seats on the top, and were taking her eagerly -between them up the green lane towards the farm. - -"But, Jack, you grow by feet, not by inches," said Betty, putting him -a little away from her that she might see him more distinctly. -"Father will feel quite shy of you." - -"More than I'll be of him, then. Do you see he's won a medal for his -last invention, Aunt Betty? Isn't he glorious? The boys at school -chaff me because they say I'm always boasting about father, and I -tell them they would boast too if they had a father like him to boast -about. Why, there's Eva, waiting at the gate. I'll just run on and -have a word with her." - -Then Tom and Betty were left alone, and took a long look into each -other's eyes. - -"Well, darling! Are you ready for me?" - -"Quite ready. Have I not said so often enough." - -"And you will marry me any day I like?" - -"Yes, mother knows we both wish it to be as quiet as possible, to -have no splash breakfast, not even a wedding cake." - -"Then I've settled it," said Tom joyously. "I saw the Bishop at -Launceston and he's kind enough to express a wish to perform the -Service. The Confirmation is to be quite early in the morning of the -twenty-first and if you could fix the wedding to take place -immediately after it, it would be delightful. It's short notice, but -will it suit you, my darling? The time has dragged just lately Your -face, your dear face, has come between me and my work. We've been -pretty patient, I think. Will your mother object?" - -"The time will suit me, and I don't think mother will object," said -Betty, slipping her hand into his. "She is prepared for us to sail -about the end of the year. She knows the parting is quite close; -sometimes I think the strain tells on her. It will be better for her -when it's over. We needn't tell anyone, Tom. We'll be married and -slip away somewhere." - -"To Melbourne," said Tom, "or we'll keep our Christmas at Launceston -and your luggage can follow us there." - -"And it's a good time in a way for us to be going, for Jack's father -will be here and take away the bitterness of the parting. He will be -following us soon to England." - -"Betty, are you afraid, afraid to trust yourself to me all that long -distance from home? It's a tremendous trust you give me." - -Betty turned her face, glorified by love, to his. - -"Afraid! with _you_, Tom!" and Tom was satisfied. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -TWO VENTURES OF HOPE - -It was the evening before Jack's confirmation and Tom's and Betty's -wedding day. Up and down the paddock paced Tom and Jack, arm in arm, -and Tom's heart was almost as full of the boy who gripped his arm as -of the fair woman whom he would call wife on the morrow. - -"It will be a great day for us both, Jack," he said, giving -expression to his thought. - -"Yes, Uncle Tom." - -"Your whole life may depend upon your decision." - -"Yes, it's rather awful when you come to think of it." - -"It would be if you did not feel sure that the hosts of God, that God -Himself is behind you." - -"Uncle Tom, I want to grow into just such a man as you." - -"Ah no," said Tom quickly. "There is but one model for us all to -copy, the man Christ Jesus." - -Jack's heart was too full to answer. - -"I do wish father could have got here in time," he said, wistfully. - -"Aunt Betty thinks he will appear some time to-morrow, but she does -not think it possible that he can arrive in time for the service." - -"I heartily wish he could for all our sakes. Aunt Betty is almost as -keen as you, for she longs to get a glimpse of him before I carry her -off. We leave for Launceston in the afternoon." - -"It would be just beastly if I did not know that I shall see you both -in England in a few months' time; but now I shall have father, and -going about with him all the time, I shan't be able to miss anyone -very much. I wish girls didn't cry. Whenever I talk of going to -England, Eva cries or blows her nose to prevent it! Men aren't made -like that, are they? It would be horrid if they were! I always tell -her to dry up, and perhaps some day, when I'm a man, I'll come out -and marry her." - -Tom laughed out loud; it was rather refreshing to find that the boy -at his side, so manly in some ways, was still at heart as innocent as -a child. - -"But Eva might have found someone else to marry by that time," he -suggested. - -"Oh, of course if she did it would be all right, and she would not -want me," said Jack, nonchalantly, in no way affected at the thought -of the loss of his ladylove. "She has cheered up a bit since Aunt -Betty has consented to her being bridesmaid, although she's not to be -dressed up fine, just a new white frock and a white muslin hat, she -says." - -Then Aunt Betty's voice, ringing down the paddock, called them both -in to supper. - -The little church was full to overflowing on the morrow, for quick as -had been the final choice of the wedding day the rumour of it had -spread like fire through the township, and loving hands had been busy -on the previous afternoon, decorating the tiny sanctuary with Madonna -lilies and other white flowers for the double service. And all had -been carried through so quickly and quietly that no one at the farm -knew anything of it. - -It was only a handful of candidates that were presented for -Confirmation, not more than a score, but of those it may be said that -the present Vicar had spent much time and prayer on their -preparation. The candidates were ranged in the front seats, and -quite at the back of the church was seated the party from the farm, -with Clarissa and Eva, and the intervening benches were filled with -neighbours from the township. The only one who had come from a -distance was Jessie Butler, who hearing that her friend of earlier -years was to be confirmed, and remembering his presence at her own -confirmation, had come to stay a night or two with someone in -Wallaroo on purpose to be present when Jack was confirmed. - -The congregation rose simultaneously to its feet as the Bishop, -preceded by the Vicar, appeared from the tiny vestry, and the service -began with a hymn, during the singing of which the rather unusual -sound of a motor driving at full speed and brought to a sudden -standstill outside the open door of the little church, fell upon -Betty's ear. Could it be the sudden arrival of a belated candidate. -But creeping quietly into the church, her glad eyes recognised Jack's -father, standing hesitatingly in the doorway. He had motored all the -way from Launceston to be present at his son's Confirmation, and Mr. -Treherne, with a quick movement, motioned him to Betty's side. It -was the one presence she and Jack needed to make the day perfect in -their eyes. And a great joy and thankfulness filled the elder Jack's -heart, as he recognised his tall boy standing at the head of the row -of boy candidates, and heard his emphatic promise to renew his -baptismal promises and serve God manfully for the rest of his life, -and when it came to Jack's turn to kneel before the Bishop and -receive the laying on of hands, Betty's hand sought for a moment that -of her brother-in-law, and together they sank upon their knees and -prayed very fervently for God's blessing on the head of the boy who -was almost equally dear to both of them. - -The Bishop's charge was a very simple one, but the earnest words -could scarcely fail to reach the hearts of all who listened to them, -and a reverent hush fell on the congregation as he pronounced the -blessing. And then there was a pause for those who wished to leave -the church, but not one stirred from his place. They waited for what -was to follow. Then Tom, with a glance at Betty, moved to the -chancel steps to be followed immediately by Betty, leaning on her -father's arm, while little Eva with round wondering eyes took her -place behind, and forthwith the wedding service proceeded. Jack's -father, meanwhile, had walked up the church and taken his own place -by his son. - -Then, in low clear voices, fully audible to all present, Tom and -Betty spoke out their promises to be true and loyal to each other as -long as life should last. There were those in the congregation who -beforehand had grumbled that such an unusual event as a wedding -should be carried through in what they were pleased to call such a -hole-and-corner fashion, but criticism vanished when the simply -attired bride came down the church upon her husband's arm. All felt -the bright-faced bride was in her right setting. - -The Bishop, after shaking hands with the wedding couple, had to hurry -off for another function, and then the wedding party walked quietly -back to the farm, where a meal, laid in readiness beforehand, awaited -them. Jack sat by his father and Tom and Betty were placed in the -centre of the table. Just at the end of the meal, Mr. Treherne rose -to his feet. - -"God bless my girl, as good a daughter as ever stepped, and God bless -the man she has married," was all he said, and Betty turned and -kissed him. - -The last half hour before the buggy came round to carry them to the -station was spent by Betty in her mother's room. What passed between -them none knew, but when Betty came out in her neat travelling dress, -there were traces of tears in her eyes. Then came the hubbub of -adieus, and more farewells had to be spoken at the gate of the -paddock, where half the township had gathered to wish the bride and -bridegroom farewell. Missiles of all description had been tabooed, -but the kindly cheers of her neighbours, the eager outstretched hands -which grasped hers, were a lovely ending to a happy life, thought -Betty, as she drove off with her husband at her side. For she fully -realised that one page of her life was folded down, but another page, -very fair and white, was spread out before her. - -What shall be written upon it is not for us to say. Some blots will -surely blister it. - - "Into each life some rain must fall, - Some days must be dark and dreary." - - -But now as Betty drives away with sunshine in her face and sunshine -in her heart, we breathe the prayer that such days will be few and -far between. - - - -EPILOGUE - -_Extract from an English daily paper five years later._ - -"Special mention should be made of the amazing exhibition of prowess -on the part of Lieutenant Stephens in yesterday's military aeronautic -manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain. His aeroplane, the combined creation -of his father and himself, is of such perfect construction that it is -likely to make their name famous, and the Lieutenant's command of it -left nothing to be desired. He executed feats of skill which have -rarely been surpassed. England has just cause for pride in her -present race of young men, prepared to face every danger in the -service of their country, for it is an open secret that upon the -efficiency of our air fleet, the future safety of our island home -will very largely depend." - -This paper, with others, was forwarded in due time to Mrs. Kenyon, -who read aloud the paragraph just quoted to Eva, now a blooming girl -of seventeen. She flew round the table and snatched it from her -mother's hands. - -"Let me read it for myself, mother. We shall all feel proud of him. -He's playing our childish game of subduing giants to some purpose, -isn't he? He's fairly earned his rights to his title of 'Jack, the -Englishman.' I'm ever so glad. I'll run across to the farm and tell -them about it." - -Clarissa laughed at the girl's enthusiasm. - -"They are perfectly certain to have these papers as well as -ourselves. Isn't he their grandson?" - -"And a grandson to be proud of! I wish he were mine, or a brother or -something. Oh mother! I wonder--Shall we ever see him again?" - - - - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Jack the Englishman, by H. Louisa Bedford - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JACK THE ENGLISHMAN *** - -***** This file should be named 60676-8.txt or 60676-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/6/7/60676/ - -Produced by Al Haines -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Louisa Bedford -</title> - -<style type="text/css"> -body { color: black; - background: white; - margin-right: 10%; - margin-left: 10%; - font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; - text-align: justify } - -p {text-indent: 4% } - -p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } - -p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 200%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - text-align: center } - -p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - text-align: center } - -p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 60%; - text-align: center } - -h1 { text-align: center } -h2 { text-align: center } -h3 { text-align: center } -h4 { text-align: center } -h5 { text-align: center } - -p.poem {text-indent: 0%; - margin-left: 10%; } - -p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; - letter-spacing: 4em ; - text-align: center } - -p.letter {text-indent: 0%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -.smcap { font-variant: small-caps } - -p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.intro {font-size: 90% ; - text-indent: -5% ; - margin-left: 5% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.finis { font-size: larger ; - text-align: center ; - text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.capcenter { margin-left: 0; - margin-right: 0 ; - margin-bottom: .5% ; - margin-top: 0; - font-weight: bold; - float: none ; - clear: both ; - text-indent: 0%; - text-align: center } - -img.imgcenter { margin-left: auto; - margin-bottom: 0; - margin-top: 1%; - margin-right: auto; } - -</style> - -</head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Jack the Englishman, by H. Louisa Bedford - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Jack the Englishman - -Author: H. Louisa Bedford - -Illustrator: Wal Paget - -Release Date: November 12, 2019 [EBook #60676] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JACK THE ENGLISHMAN *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines - - - - - -</pre> - - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-cover"></a> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-cover.jpg" alt="Cover art" /> -<br /> -Cover art -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-front"></a> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-front.jpg" alt="THE BAG BROKE WITH THE FORCE OF THE BLOW. p. 35." /> -<br /> -THE BAG BROKE WITH THE FORCE OF THE BLOW. <a href="#p35">p. 35</a>. -</p> - -<h1> -<br /><br /> - JACK,<br /> - THE ENGLISHMAN<br /> -</h1> - -<p class="t3"> - BY<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - H. LOUISA BEDFORD<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> - AUTHOR OF<br /> - "HER ONLY SON, ISAAC" "MRS. MERRIMAN'S GODCHILD," ETC.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - ILLUSTRATED BY WAL PAGET<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - LONDON<br /> - SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING<br /> - CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE<br /> - NEW YORK AND TORONTO: THE MACMILLAN CO.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> - Printed in Great Britain by Wyman & Sons Ltd.,<br /> - London, Reading and Fakenham.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> - CONTENTS<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - I. <a href="#chap01">HIS TITLE</a><br /> - II. <a href="#chap02">A CHUM</a><br /> - III. <a href="#chap03">NEW NEIGHBOURS</a><br /> - IV. <a href="#chap04">A BUSH BROTHER</a><br /> - V. <a href="#chap05">A CHURCH OFFICIAL</a><br /> - VI. <a href="#chap06">MINISTERING CHILDREN</a><br /> - VII. <a href="#chap07">A BISHOP'S VISIT</a><br /> - VIII. <a href="#chap08">TWO LEAVE-TAKINGS</a><br /> - IX. <a href="#chap09">A SURPRISE VISIT</a><br /> - X. <a href="#chap10">A BUSH TOUR</a><br /> - XI. <a href="#chap11">A NARROW ESCAPE</a><br /> - XII. <a href="#chap12">GOING HOME</a><br /> - XIII. <a href="#chap13">TWO VENTURES OF HOPE</a><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> - -<p class="t2"> -JACK, THE ENGLISHMAN -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I -<br /><br /> -HIS TITLE. -</h3> - -<p> -It was a beautiful spring afternoon in the northern -hill districts of Tasmania. The sky was of a bird's -egg blue, which even Italy cannot rival, and the -bold outline of hills which bounded the horizon, -bush clad to the top, showed a still deeper azure -blue in an atmosphere which, clear as the heaven -above, had never a suggestion of hardness. -Removed some half-mile from the little township of -Wallaroo lay a farm homestead nestling against the -side of the hill, protected behind by a belt of trees -from the keen, strong mountain winds, and -surrounded by a rough wood paling; but the broad -verandah in the front lay open to the sunshine, -and even in winter could often be used as the family -dining-room. The garden below it was a mass of -flowers for at least six months in the year, and there -was scarcely a month when there was a total absence -of them. -</p> - -<p> -The house, one-storied and built of wood like all -the houses in the country districts, was in the -middle of the home paddock; the drive up to it -little more than a cart track across the field, which -was divided from the farm road which skirted it by -a fence of tree trunks, rough hewn and laid one -on the top of the other. A strong gate guarded -the entrance, and on it sat Jack, the Englishman, -his bare, brown feet clinging to one of the lower -bars, his firmly set head thrown back a little -on his broad shoulders as he rolled out "Rule -Britannia" from his lusty lungs. Many and various -were the games he had played in the paddock this -afternoon, but pretending things by yourself palls -after a time, and Jack had sought his favourite -perch upon the gate and employed the spare -interval in practising the song which father had taught -him on the occasion of his last visit. He must -have it quite perfect by the time father came again. -It was that father, an English naval captain, from -whom Jack claimed his title of "Jack, the Englishman," -by which he was universally known in the -little township, and yet the little boy, in his seven -years of life, had known no other home than his -grandfather's pretty homestead. -</p> - -<p> -"But o' course, if father's English, I must be -English too. You can't be different from your -father," Jack had said so often that the neighbours -first laughed, and then accepted him at his own -valuation, and gave him the nickname of which he -was so proud. -</p> - -<p> -About the mother who had died when he was -born, Jack never troubled his little head; two -figures loomed large upon his childish horizon, -Aunt Betty and father. Aunts and mothers stood -about on a level in Jack's mind; it never suggested -itself to him to be envious of the boys who had -mothers instead of aunts, for Aunt Betty wrapped -him round with a love so tender and wholesome, -that the want of a mother had never made itself -felt, but father stood first of all in his childish -affection. -</p> - -<p> -It was more than eight years since Lieutenant -Stephens had come out from England in the -man-o'-war which was to represent the English navy in -Australian waters, and at Adelaide he had met -Mary Treherne, a pretty Tasmanian girl, still in -her teens, who was visiting relations there. It was -a case of love at first sight with the young couple, -who were married after a very short engagement. -Then, whilst her husband's ship was sent cruising to -northern seas, Mary came back to her parents, and -there had given birth to her little son, dying, poor -child, before her devoted husband could get back -to her. Since then Lieutenant Stephens had received -his promotion to Captain, and had occupied some -naval post in the Australian Commonwealth, but -his boy, at Betty Treherne's urgent request, had -been left at the farm, where he led as happy and -healthful an existence as a child could have. The -eras in his life were his father's visits, which were -often long months apart, and as each arrival was -a living joy, so each departure was grief so sore that -it took all little Jack's manhood not to cry his heart -out. -</p> - -<p> -"Some day—some day," he had said wistfully -on the last occasion, "when I'm a big boy you'll -take me with you," and his father had nodded -acquiescence. -</p> - -<p> -"It's not quite impossible that when I'm called -back to England, I may take you over with me and -put you to school there, but that is in the far future." -</p> - -<p> -"How far?" Jack asked eagerly. -</p> - -<p> -"That's more than I can tell; years hence very -likely." -</p> - -<p> -But even that distant hope relieved the tension -of the big knot in Jack's throat, and made him -smile bravely as father climbed to the top of the -crazy coach that was to carry him to the station -some eight miles away. -</p> - -<p> -From that time forward, Jack insisted that Aunt -Betty should measure him every month to see if -he had grown a little. -</p> - -<p> -"Why are you in such a hurry to grow up?" -she asked, smiling at him one day. "You won't -seem like my little boy any more when you get -into trousers." -</p> - -<p> -"But I shall be father's big boy," was the quick -rejoinder, "and he'll take me with him to England -when he goes. Did he tell you?" -</p> - -<p> -Aunt Betty drew a hard breath, and paled a -little. -</p> - -<p> -"That can't be for years and years," she said -decidedly. -</p> - -<p> -"He said when I'm big, so I want to grow big -in a hurry," went on Jack, all unconscious how his -frank outspokenness cut his aunt like a knife. Then -he turned and saw tears in her pretty eyes, and flew -to kiss them away. -</p> - -<p> -"But why are you crying, Aunt Betty? I've -not been a naughty boy," he said, reminiscent that -on the occasion of his one and only lie, the enormity -of his sin had been brought home to him by the -fact that Aunt Betty had cried. -</p> - -<p> -She stooped and kissed him now with a little -smile. -</p> - -<p> -"I shan't like the day when you go away with -father." -</p> - -<p> -"But o' course you'll come along with us," he -said, as a kind of happy afterthought, and there -they both left it. -</p> - -<p> -And now Aunt Betty's clear voice came calling -down the paddock. -</p> - -<p> -"Jack, Jack, it's time you came in to get tidy -for tea," but Jack's head was bent a little forward, -his eyes were intently fixed upon a man's figure -that came walking swiftly and strongly up the -green lane from the township, and with a shrill -whoop of triumph he sprang from his perch, and -went bounding towards the newcomer. -</p> - -<p> -"Aunt Betty, Aunt Betty," he flung back over -his shoulder, "it's father, father come to see me," -and the next minute he was folded close to the -captain's breast, and lifted on to his shoulder, a -little boy all grubby with his play, but as happy and -joyful as any child in the island. -</p> - -<p> -And across the paddock came Aunt Betty, fresh -as the spring day in her blue print gown, and -advancing more slowly behind came Mr. and -Mrs. Treherne. -</p> - -<p> -"A surprise visit, Father Jack, but none the less -a welcome one," said Mr. Treherne. He was a -typical Tasmanian farmer with his rough clothes -and slouch hat, but a kindly contentment shone out -of his true blue eyes, and he had an almost patriarchal -simplicity of manner. He bore a high name in all -the country-side for uprightness of character, and -was any neighbour in trouble Treherne was the -man to turn to for counsel and help. And his wife -was a help-meet indeed, a bustling active little -woman, who made light of reverses and much of -every joy. The loss of her eldest daughter had -been the sharpest of her sorrows, and the gradual -drifting of her four sons to different parts of the -colony where competition was keener and money -made faster than in "sleepy hollow," as Tasmania -is nicknamed by the bustling Australians. There -was only one left now to help father with the farm, -Ted and Betty out of a family of seven! -</p> - -<p> -But still Mrs. Treherne asserted confidently that -the joys of life far outweighed its sorrows. -Perfectly happy in her own married life, her heart had -gone out in tenderest pity to the young Lieutenant -so early left a widower, and a deep bond of affection -existed between the two. She took one of his -hands between her own, and beamed welcome upon -him. -</p> - -<p> -"It's good luck that brings you again so soon." -</p> - -<p> -"It's a matter of business that I've come to talk -over with you all, but it can wait until after supper. -I'm as hungry as a hunter. I came straight on -from Burnie without waiting to get a meal." -</p> - -<p> -"If you had wired, you should have had a clean -son to welcome you," said Betty. "Climb down, -Jack, and come with me and be scrubbed. Don't -wait for us, mother. The tea is all ready to come -in." -</p> - -<p> -Jack chattered away in wildest excitement whilst -Aunt Betty scrubbed and combed, but Betty's -heart was thumping painfully, and she answered -the boy at random, wondering greatly if the business -Father Jack talked about implied a visit to England, -and whether he would want to take his little son -with him. -</p> - -<p> -"He has the right! of course he has the right," -she thought. "Aunts are only useful to fill up -gaps," and her arms closed round little Jack with a -yearning hug. -</p> - -<p> -"There! now you're a son to be proud of, such -a nice clean little boy smelling of starch and soap," -she said merrily, with a final adjustment of the tie -of his white sailor suit, and they went down to tea -hand in hand, to tea laid in the verandah, with a -glimpse in the west of the sun sinking towards its -setting in a sky barred with green and purple and -gold. -</p> - -<p> -Little Jack sat by his father, listening to every -word he said, and directly tea was ended climbed -again on to his knee and imperatively demanded a -story. It was the regular routine when Father Jack -paid a visit. -</p> - -<p> -"And what is it to be?" asked the captain -</p> - -<p> -"Why, Jack, the Giant Killer, or Jack and the -Beanstalk. I love the stories about Jacks best of -all, because Aunt Betty says the Jacks are the -people who do things, and she says you and all the -brave sailors are called Jack Tars, and that I'm to -grow up big and brave like you, father." -</p> - -<p> -The Captain's arm tightened round his son. -</p> - -<p> -"It's very kind of Aunt Betty to say such good -things about the Jacks of the world. We must try -and deserve them, you and I. Well, now, I'm going -to tell you a sort of new version of Jack, the Giant -Killer." -</p> - -<p> -"What's a new version?" asked Jack, distrustfully. -</p> - -<p> -"The same sort of story told in a different way, -and mine is a true story." -</p> - -<p> -"Is it written down in a book? Has it got pictures?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not yet; I expect it will get written down some -day when it's finished." -</p> - -<p> -"It isn't finished," cried Jack in real disappointment. -</p> - -<p> -"Wait and listen—There was once a man——" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, it's all wrong," said Jack impatiently. -"It's a boy in the <i>real</i> story." -</p> - -<p> -"Didn't I tell you mine was a new version? -Now listen and don't interrupt——" -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Treherne leant back in his chair, listening -with a smile to the argument between father and -son as he smoked his pipe; Mrs. Treherne had gone -off into the house, whilst Betty, after setting the -table afresh for Ted who would be late that evening -as he was bringing home a mob of cattle, seated -herself in the shadow, where she could watch the -Captain and Jack without interruption. -</p> - -<p> -"There was once a man," began the Captain -over again, "who looked round the world, and -noticed what a lot of giants had been conquered, -and wondered within himself what was left for him -to do." -</p> - -<p> -"No giants he could kill?" asked Jack excitedly, -"Were those others all deaded?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not deaded; they were caught and held in -bondage, made to serve their masters, which was -ever so much better than killing them." -</p> - -<p> -"What were their names?" -</p> - -<p> -"Water was the name of one of them." -</p> - -<p> -Jack stirred uneasily. "Now you're greening -me, father"—the term was Uncle Ted's. -</p> - -<p> -The Captain laughed. "Didn't I tell you this -was a true story? Water was so big a giant that -for years and years men looked at it, and did not -try to do much with it. The great big seas——" -</p> - -<p> -"I know them," cried Jack. "Aunt Betty -shows them to me on the map, and we go long -voyages in the puff-puff steamers nearly every -day!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! I was just coming to that. At first men -hollowed out boats out of tree trunks, and rowed -about in them, timidly keeping close to the shore, -and then, as the years rolled on, they grew braver, -and said: 'There's another giant that will help us -in our fight with water. Let us try and catch the -wind.' So they built bigger boats, with sails to -them which caught the wind and moved the ships -along without any rowing, and for many, many -years men were very proud of their two great -captive giants, water and wind, and they discovered -many new countries with their wind-driven ships, -and were happy. But very often the wind failed -them, grew sulky, and would not blow, and then -the ship lay quiet in the midst of the ocean; or -the wind was angry, and blew too strong—giants -are dangerous when they lose their temper—and -many a stately ship was upset by the fury of the -wind, and sent to the bottom. Then men began -to think very seriously what giant they could -conquer that would help them to make the wind more -obedient to their will, so they called in fire to their -aid. Fire, properly applied, turned water into -steam, and men found that not only ships, but -nearly everything in the world could be worked -through the help of steam." -</p> - -<p> -Jack was getting wildly interested in the new -version. "Oh, but I <i>know</i>," he said, clapping his -hands. "There's trains, and there's steam rollers; -I love it when they come up here, and there's an -engine comes along and goes from farm to farm -for the threshing, and that's jolly fun for the -threshers all come to dinner, and——" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I see you know a lot about these captive -giants after all," said the Captain, bringing him -back to the point. -</p> - -<p> -"Go on, please; it's just like a game," said Jack. -"Perhaps I'll find out some more." -</p> - -<p> -"I can't go on much longer. It would take me -all night to tell you of all the giants we keep hard -at work. Three are enough to think of at a time. -Tell me their names again for fear you should -forget." -</p> - -<p> -"Water—one. Wind—two, and Fire, that makes -steam—three," said Jack, counting them off, as he -rehearsed them on his father's fingers. "Just one -more, daddy dear," a phrase he reserved for very -big requests. -</p> - -<p> -"One more then, and away you go to bed, for -I see Aunt Betty looking at her watch. The last -giant that the man of the story very much wishes -to conquer, and has not done it yet, is air. He wants -to travel in the air faster than any train or -steamship will take you by land or water." -</p> - -<p> -"Like my new toy, the one grandmother sent -for on my birthday seven. She sent for it all the -way to Melbourne, an 'airyplane' she calls it, but -it only goes just across the room, and then comes -flop." -</p> - -<p> -"That's just it; at present flying in the air too -often ends in flop, and this man I'm talking of -wants to help to discover something that will make -flying in the air safer and surer. There are lots of -men all over the world trying to do the same thing. -All the giants I have told you of are too big and -strong for one man to grapple with by himself, -but many men joined together will do it, and the -man of the story has been working at it by himself -for years, and at last—at last he thinks he has -discovered something that will be of service to -airmen and to his country, and he's going over to -England to test it—to see if his discovery is really -as good as he believes it to be." -</p> - -<p> -Little Jack sat grave and very quiet, pondering -deeply. -</p> - -<p> -"What's the man's name, father? The man -you're telling about." -</p> - -<p> -"Jack, a Jack who will be well content if he can -help to do something big in conquering the giant -Air. It's your father who is the man of the story. -I promised it should be a true one." -</p> - -<p> -Jack's answer seemed a little irrelevant. He -slipped from his father's knee and took his hand, -trying with all his might to pull him up from his chair. -"Come, father, come quick and see how big I've -grown. Aunt Betty measures me every month, -and says I'm quite a big boy for my age." -</p> - -<p> -Wondering at the sudden change of subject, the -Captain humoured his little son, and allowed -himself to be dragged to the hall where, against the -doorpost of one of the rooms, Jack's height was -duly marked with a red pencil. -</p> - -<p> -"Aunt Betty's right. You're quite a big boy -for only seven years old." -</p> - -<p> -"I knewed it," cried Jack, in rapturous -exultation, "so you'll take me along with you, dear, -and we'll hit at that old giant Air together. Oh, -I'm so glad, so glad to be big." -</p> - -<p> -"Not so fast, sonny," said the Captain, gently -gathering him again into his arms. "You're a big -boy for seven years old, but you're altogether too -young for me to take you to England yet." -</p> - -<p> -Jack's face went white as the sailor suit he wore, -and his great round eyes filled to the brim with -tears, but by vigorous blinking he prevented them -from falling down his cheeks. -</p> - -<p> -"You said—perhaps when I was big you'd take -me with you." -</p> - -<p> -"And that will be some years hence when I'll -come back to fetch you, please God." -</p> - -<p> -"Me and Aunt Betty, too," said Jack, with a -little catch in his throat, "'cause she'll cry if I -leave her." -</p> - -<p> -"Jack, it's bedtime, and you will never go to -sleep if you get so excited," said Aunt Betty -decidedly, feeling all future plans swamped into -nothingness by the greatness of the news Father -Jack had come to tell. -</p> - -<p> -"Look here, I'll carry you pig-a-back," said the -Captain, dropping on to all fours. "Climb up and -hold fast, for the pig feels frisky to-night, and I -can't quite tell what may happen." So Jack went -off to his cot in Aunt Betty's room in triumph and -screams of laughter, but the laughter gave way to -tears when bathed and night-gowned he knelt by -Aunt Betty's side to say his prayers. The list of -people God was asked to bless was quite a long -one, including various friends of Jack's in the -township, but last of all to-night came his father's -name. -</p> - -<p> -"God bless Father Jack, and make Little Jack -a good boy and very big, please, dear God, so as -he'll soon have father to fetch him home." -</p> - -<p> -And then, with choking sobs, Jack sprang to his -feet and into bed. -</p> - -<p> -"Tuck me in tight, Aunt Betty, and don't kiss -me, please. I'll tuck my head under the clothes, -and don't tell father I'm crying. It's only little -boys who cry, he says, and I want to be big, ever -so big. I'll grow now, shan't I? Now I've asked -God about it." -</p> - -<p> -Aunt Betty's only answer was a reassuring pat -on his back as she tucked the bedclothes round him. -Truth to tell she was crying a little too. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II -<br /><br /> -A CHUM -</h3> - -<p> -"You've sprung it upon us rather suddenly, Jack." -</p> - -<p> -Betty and her brother-in-law sat in the verandah -in the glory of the Tasmanian night. The stars -shone out like lamps from the dark vault above -with a brilliancy unknown in our cloudier -atmosphere; a wonderful silence rested on the land, -except that at long intervals a wind came sighing -from the bush-clad hills, precursor of the strong -breeze, sometimes reaching the force of a gale, that -often springs up with the rising of the sun. -</p> - -<p> -Jack removed his pipe and let it die out before -he answered Betty. -</p> - -<p> -"To you I expect it may seem a fad, the result -of a sudden impulse, but really I've been working -towards this end ever since aviation has been -mooted, spending all my spare time and thought -upon the perfecting of a notion too entirely technical -to explain to anyone who does not understand -aeroplanes. Finally I sent over my invention to -an expert in the Admiralty, with the result that -I've received my recall, and am to work it out. -There is no question that at this juncture, when all -nations are hurrying to get their air fleet afloat, -we are singularly behindhand, and I feel the best -service I can give my country is to help, in however -small a degree, to retrieve our mistake." -</p> - -<p> -"You don't really think England is in peril, do -you?" -</p> - -<p> -"The unready man is always in peril, and England -is singularly unready for any emergency at the -present time. I believe with some men the call -of country is the strongest passion in their blood. -For a moment the thought of leaving the little -lad staggered me, for, of course, he's altogether too -young to think of taking him with me. Nobody -would mother him as you are doing, Betty. I -would like him to be with you for some years longer -yet, if you agree to continue taking charge of him." -</p> - -<p> -"But of course," said Betty, with a little catch -in her throat. "He is my greatest joy in life. I -dread the time when I must let him go." -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you; I want to leave him here as long -as possible until it becomes a question of education. -Of course I would like if he shows any inclination -that way that he should follow in my footsteps, -either serve in the navy or in the air fleet." -</p> - -<p> -Betty gave a little gasp. "But the peril, Jack! -Think of the lives that have been already sacrificed." -</p> - -<p> -Jack shrugged his shoulders. "By the time the -boy is old enough to think of a profession, I don't -suppose aviation will be much more dangerous -than any other calling that is distinctly combative -in character, and if it is, I hope my son will be -brave enough to face it. However, what Jack will -be or do when he grows up is too far a cry to discuss -seriously." -</p> - -<p> -"And meanwhile what do you want me to do -with him?" -</p> - -<p> -"Just what you are doing now. Bring him up -to fear God and honour the King." -</p> - -<p> -"And when education presses? I can teach -him to read and write and a little arithmetic, but -when he ought to go further? Am I to send him -away to a boarding school?" -</p> - -<p> -"I think not, Betty. I would almost rather -you let him go to the State school here, and kept -him under your own eye. I don't believe association -during school hours with all and sundry will -hurt him whilst he has you to come back to, and -the teaching at some of these schools is far more -practical and useful than at many a preparatory school -at home. What can you tell me of the master here?" -</p> - -<p> -"He's rather above the average, and if he finds -a boy interested in his work is often willing to give -him a helping hand. For one thing, I don't believe -Jack will ever want to be much off the place out -of school hours. He's a manly little chap, and loves -being about with Ted or father on the farm. I -wish sometimes he had some chum of his own, a -little brother, or what would be almost as -good—a little sister. His play is too solitary." -</p> - -<p> -"I'm afraid it's out of your power or mine to -cure that," said the Captain, rather sadly, his -thoughts going back to the pretty wife who had been -his for so short a time. -</p> - -<p> -When little Jack appeared at breakfast the -following morning there was no sign of the previous -night's emotion, but he was quite inseparable from -his father that day, never leaving his side for an -instant if he could help it. He was much graver -than usual, intent upon watching the Captain's -every movement, even adjusting his own little -shoulders to exactly the same angle as his father's, -and adopting a suspicion of roll in his walk. -</p> - -<p> -The Captain was to leave by the evening coach, -and Betty catching the wistful look in little Jack's -eyes suggested that he should be the one to escort -the Captain down the green lane to the hotel in the -township from which the coach started. Jack, -holding his father's hand tight gripped in his own, -scarcely uttered a word as they walked off together. -He held his head high and swallowed the uncomfortable -knot in his throat. Not again would he disgrace -his manhood by breaking into tears. -</p> - -<p> -"I'll be <i>real</i> big when you come next time," he -ventured at last. "Will it be soon?" -</p> - -<p> -"As soon as I can make it, Jackie. Meanwhile -you'll be good and do as Aunt Betty tells you." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, sometimes. I can't always," said Jack -truthfully. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, as often as you can. And little or big -you'll not forget you're Jack, the Englishman, who'll -speak the truth and be brave and ready to fight -for your country if need be." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said Jack, squaring his shoulders a -little. -</p> - -<p> -"And I'll write to you from every port—Aunt -Betty will show you on the map the ports my ship -will touch at—and when I get home I shall write -to you every week." -</p> - -<p> -That promise brought a smile to Jack's twitching -lips. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, but that's splendid! A letter all my own -every week," he said, beginning to jump about with -excitement at the prospect. -</p> - -<p> -"Will it have my name written upon the -envelope?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why, yes. How else should the postman know -whom it's for? You'll have to write to me, you -know." -</p> - -<p> -That proposition did not sound quite so delightful, -and Jack's forehead puckered a little. He -remembered the daily tussle over his copy-book. -</p> - -<p> -"I don't write very well just yet," he said. -</p> - -<p> -"That will have to be amended, for a letter I -must have every week. Aunt Betty will guide -your hand at first, and very soon I hope you will be -able to write me a sentence or two all your own, -without Aunt Betty's help." -</p> - -<p> -"But what'll I say in a letter?" asked Jack, still -distrustful of his own powers. -</p> - -<p> -"Just what you would say to me if you were -talking as you're talking now; how you get on with -your lessons. If you're a good boy or a bad one, who -you meet, what picnics you have; anything you -like. What interests you will surely interest me." -</p> - -<p> -The thought that father would still talk to him -when he was away kept Jack steady through the -parting, that, and the fact that a young horse only -partially broken in was harnessed to the steady -goer who for months past had been one of the hinder -pair of the four-horse coach, played all manner of -pranks at starting; at first declining to budge at -all; then, when the superior force of the three others -made movement necessary, setting his four legs -together and letting himself be dragged along for a -few paces, finally breaking into a wild gallop which -was checked by his more sober mates, until at last -finding himself over-matched he dropped into the -quick trot of the other three, fretting and foaming -at the mouth, nevertheless, at his enforced obedience. -It was a primitive method of horse-breaking, but -effectual. And so Jack's farewells to his father -were diversified by watching the antics of the -unbroken colt, and joining a little in the laughter of -the ring of spectators that had gathered round to -see the fun. But when the final start was made -Jack was conscious of the smarting of unshed tears, -rubbed his eyes vigorously with his sturdy fists -and set off home at a smart trot, standing still -sometimes and curvetting a little in imitation of -the colt that needed breaking in. -</p> - -<p> -Betty, who stood waiting for him at the gate of -the paddock, ready to comfort and console, saw -him gambolling along like a frisky horse, and felt -her sympathy a little wasted. Children's sorrows -are proverbially evanescent, but she was hardly -prepared for Jack to return in such apparently -rollicking spirits from the parting with his father -of indefinite duration. And when he came up to -her it was of the horse and its capering that he told -her, mimicking its action in his own little person: -holding back, pelting forwards, trying to rear, -interspersed with vicious side kicks, and finally a -wild gallop which sobered into a trot. -</p> - -<p> -"That's 'zackly how he went," he said, waiting -breathless for Aunt Betty to catch him -up. -</p> - -<p> -Betty was extremely astonished that Jack made -no mention of his father, but later she understood. -Tea was over, and before Jack went to bed Betty -allowed him a quarter of an hour's play at any game -he chose. -</p> - -<p> -"Would you like to be the frisky horse again, -and I will drive you," she asked, willing to humour -his latest whim. -</p> - -<p> -"No, I'll get my slate and write, only you must -help me." -</p> - -<p> -This was indeed an unexpected development for -Jack, and left Betty speechless. Jack was quick -at reading and quite good at counting, but writing -was his particular bug-bear. -</p> - -<p> -She lifted him on to her lap, and he bent eagerly -over the slate on his knees. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, what do you want to write," Betty asked, -taking his right hand in her own firm, strong one. -</p> - -<p> -"A letter—a letter to father. He's going to write -to me every week. How do you begin? He says -I must write every week, same as he does." -</p> - -<p> -"All right! 'My dear Father'—That's the way -to begin." -</p> - -<p> -By the time the "r" was reached Jack lifted -a flushed face. -</p> - -<p> -"It's awful hard work; I'll never do it." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, yes we will. We'll write it to-morrow in -your copybook. Very soon it will come quite easy." -</p> - -<p> -And the wish to conquer made Jack comparatively -patient at his writing the following morning. Lessons -over, he turned out into the paddock as usual to -play, but somehow all zest for play had deserted -him. The effort to prove himself a man the day -before had a reaction. Every game, played alone, -lost its flavour. Hitherto Jack had never been -conscious of the need of a playmate. His whole -being had been so absorbed in his father that the -looking forward to his visits, the saving up -everything to show him and to tell him, had satisfied -him; but to-day, with that father gone, he floated -about like a rudderless boat, fretful and lonely, -not able to voice his vague longing for something -to happen! He opened the gate and looked down -the lane. On the opposite side of the lane was -a tenantless house; the half-acre in which it stood -had never been brought into proper cultivation as -a garden, but the flowers and shrubs which had been -planted haphazard about it had grown now into -tangled confusion, and Jack, when tired of his own -premises, had often run down there, where, crawling -on all-fours through the long grass and shrubs, he -had imagined himself lost in the bush, and great -was his joy when Aunt Betty, not finding him in -the home paddock, would come wandering down -the lane, saying in a clear, distinct tone: -</p> - -<p> -"Now where can that little boy have gone? I'm -afraid, I'm dreadfully afraid, he's lost in the bush! -I wonder if it's possible he can have strayed in here." -</p> - -<p> -Then her bright head would be thrust over the -gate, and each time Jack was discovered cowering -from sight there would be a fresh burst of rapture -on the part of the much-distressed aunt and roars -of delighted laughter from Jack. It was a most -favourite game, but he did not wish to play it to-day. -</p> - -<p> -Yet he resented it a little that a bullock-wagon -was drawn to one side of the road, the wagon piled -high with furniture, which was being lifted piece by -piece into the house. His happy hunting-ground -was to be his no longer, for evidently the house -was to be occupied by a fresh tenant. Dancing to -and fro with the men who were unlading the dray -was a little girl, her face entirely hidden by a large -sun-bonnet, and the rest of her little person enveloped -in a blue overall, below which came a pair of sturdy -brown legs, scarcely distinguishable from the tan -shoes and socks below. -</p> - -<p> -Jack's resentment at the thought of losing his -playground yielded to excitement at the prospect -of a playmate so close at hand, and he crept -cautiously along his side of the lane to obtain a nearer -view of the new-comer, finally taking a seat against -the fence just opposite the house. It was a minute -or two before the little girl discovered him. When -she did she crossed the dividing road and stood just -far enough from him to make a quick retreat to -her own premises if a nearer inspection was -unfavourable. It was almost a baby face that peered -out from the bonnet: round apple cheeks, big -serious eyes, and a halo of dark curls that framed the -forehead. Her eyes met Jack's for a moment, then -dropped in a sudden attack of shyness, and she -showed signs of running away without speaking. -</p> - -<p> -"Wait a bit," said Jack. "Can't you tell us -your name?" -</p> - -<p> -The child drew a step nearer. "What's yours?" -she said, answering Jack's question by another. -</p> - -<p> -"I'm Jack, father's called Jack, too." -</p> - -<p> -"I'm Eva, but mummy calls me puss. Is that -your place?" with a nod towards Jack's home. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, you can come and look at it if you like," -and Jack held out a grubby hand. -</p> - -<p> -Eva paused, looked up the lane and down it. -</p> - -<p> -"Mummy only lets me play with nice little boys," -she said. -</p> - -<p> -"All right," said Jack, rising and turning back -to go home. That he was rejected on the score -of not being nice enough to play with puzzled him -rather than annoyed. -</p> - -<p> -There was a hasty scuttle after him as Eva ran -to catch him up. -</p> - -<p> -"Stop, boy! I think you's nice! You's got -booful blue eyes!" -</p> - -<p> -Jack turned, laughing merrily. "You're a funny -little kiddie. Do you want to come, then?" -</p> - -<p> -Eva nodded gravely, thrusting a confident hand -in his. -</p> - -<p> -"You're old, a lot older than me," she said, -admiring the agility with which Jack climbed the -top of the gate and pulled back the iron fastening -to let her through. -</p> - -<p> -"I'm seven, big for my age, Aunt Betty says, but -I want to be a lot bigger before I'm done with." -</p> - -<p> -"I'm six next bufday," Eva announced. "I -had a bufday last week." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you're six now." -</p> - -<p> -Eva shook her head vigorously. "Next bufday, -mummy says." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, you're only five," said Jack dejectedly. -A baby of five was really too young to play with. -</p> - -<p> -"Can you play horses?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yus," suddenly smiling into Jack's face. -</p> - -<p> -"And cricket?" -</p> - -<p> -"Kick it, a ball like this," throwing out her little -foot. "Yus." -</p> - -<p> -"Let's see how you run. I'll give you quite a -long start, and we'll see which can get to the house -first." -</p> - -<p> -Eva's stout legs acquitted themselves so well -that Jack's esteem and respect grew by leaps and -bounds. -</p> - -<p> -"You'll do quite well for a chum, after all," he -said as he panted up to her. "Come along and see -Aunt Betty." -</p> - -<p> -Aunt Betty's whereabouts were not difficult to -discover. Her song rose clear and full as a magpie -as she busied herself in the dairy which adjoined -the house. The sound of Jack's voice made her -turn from her milk-pans to the doorway which -framed him and his little companion. -</p> - -<p> -"Why, Jack, who is the little girl?" she asked. -</p> - -<p> -"Her name is Eva, and I've just settled she shall -be my chum," was the decided answer. -</p> - -<p> -But Eva, frightened at finding herself quite -away from her own people, threw herself on the -doorstep and hid her face in a fit of sobbing. -</p> - -<p> -"I won't be nobody's chum! Take me home to -mummy," she said. -</p> - -<p> -Betty's arms closed round her consolingly. -</p> - -<p> -"So I will directly Jack can tell me where mummy -lives," said Betty. "Come along, Jack, and show -me where to take her." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III -<br /><br /> -NEW NEIGHBOURS -</h3> - -<p> -A resolute-looking little woman faced Betty as -she crossed the threshold of the door of the new -neighbour. Betty carefully deposited Eva on one -of the boxes which littered the floor and explained -her presence. -</p> - -<p> -"It was kind of you to bring her back. Pussie -has a sad trick of poking in her nose where she's -not wanted," said Eva's mother; but the child, -restored to confidence, raised indignant protest. -</p> - -<p> -"Boy does want me; he wants me for a chum, -mummy, and I think he's nice! Just look at him." -</p> - -<p> -Betty watched the grave little face soften into a -smile as the eyes rested first on Eva and then on -Jack, who stood shyly in the doorway. -</p> - -<p> -"We are neighbours, then," she said, ignoring -Eva's words. She was clearly a woman who would -commit herself to no promise that she might not -be able to keep. -</p> - -<p> -"My father, Mr. Treherne, owns the farm close -by. Jack is his little grandson," said Betty simply, -"and I'm his only daughter." -</p> - -<p> -"And my name is Kenyon. Come along, Eva; -we'll leave all this alone until after tea, and when -you're in bed I must straighten things a bit," said -Mrs. Kenyon as Betty turned to go. -</p> - -<p> -The voice was tired, and an English voice. The -speaker, still young, for she certainly was well under -thirty, inspired Betty with the feeling that she had -had a hard fight with the world. -</p> - -<p> -"Won't you come back to supper with us? I -know mother will be glad to see you, and it's hard -to get things comfortable on the first night in a new -house." -</p> - -<p> -"Comfortable!" echoed Mrs. Kenyon, with a note -of scorn in her voice. "It will be days before we -can be that. The house has been standing empty -for a long time apparently, and needs soap and water -in every corner of it. I should like to send it to the -wash, but as that can't be done I must wash it -myself, every inch of it. I took it because it was -cheap!" -</p> - -<p> -"Will you come, then," said Betty again. -</p> - -<p> -"I beg your pardon. You'll think English -manners defective, but I'm so tired I can hardly -think of what I'm saying. No, there is so much to -be done I think I will stay here, thanking you all -the same for asking us." So Betty said no more, and -taking Jack's hand walked quickly down the road. -Jack chattered all the way about Eva. -</p> - -<p> -"D'you think she'll be my chum, Aunt Betty?" -</p> - -<p> -"We'll wait and see, Jackie, and don't be in too -great a hurry. She'll want you all the more if you -don't seem too keen to have her," answered Betty, -smiling, giving the little boy his first lesson in -worldly wisdom. -</p> - -<p> -But the thought of the tired face haunted kind -Betty as she sat down to supper. She told her -mother something of the new neighbour. -</p> - -<p> -"She's such a decided, determined look and -manner, mother. She's been pretty, and she's -rather pretty still, only her face has grown hard, as -if she'd had a lot of trouble. She's young to be a -widow." -</p> - -<p> -"What makes you think she's a widow? She -did not tell you so." -</p> - -<p> -"There's no sign of a man about the place; she -clearly has to fend for herself, and to English people -it's hard work. They're not brought up to be -useful!" -</p> - -<p> -Mrs. Treherne laughed. "She's English, then." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, she said so, and she's proud and independent; -but I think when Jack is in bed I'll risk -the chance of a snub, and go and see what I can do -for her." -</p> - -<p> -An hour later Betty stood again before Mrs. Kenyon's -door. From the inner room came a sound -of singing, and through the half-opened door Betty -caught a glimpse of a little bed that stood in the -corner, over which Mrs. Kenyon bent tenderly -soothing Eva to sleep with her soft lullaby. -</p> - -<p> -"She has one tender spot in her heart, anyway," -thought Betty, giving a little cough to proclaim -her presence. Mrs. Kenyon turned and came toward -her on tip-toe, drawing the door of her bedroom -gently to behind her. -</p> - -<p> -"Eva was excited and would not go to sleep. -I don't generally spoil her like that, but she's off -now as sound as a top." -</p> - -<p> -"I've come to help you for an hour or two if you -will have me." -</p> - -<p> -Mrs. Kenyon's bright eyes scanned Betty from -head to foot. -</p> - -<p> -"It's not everyone that I could accept help -from, but I'll be glad of it from you." -</p> - -<p> -So the two worked side by side with a will and -with scarcely a word exchanged between them. -They shifted boxes, placed furniture in temporary -safety against the walls, but to Betty fell the lion's -share of the lifting. -</p> - -<p> -"I don't know how you do it; you're as strong -as a man," said Mrs. Kenyon, subsiding into a chair -for a moment's rest. -</p> - -<p> -"We're made so out here; for one thing we are -accustomed to use our muscles from the moment -we can walk. We don't—have our shoes buttoned -up for us," with a sly glance at her companion. -</p> - -<p> -Mrs. Kenyon gave a short laugh. "Nor have -I since I came out here. Since I married I learned -the way to clean them. That's six years ago, and -for three years I've made the child's living and my -own. It has not been a bed of roses. I tried various -methods, was lady-help and so on; but now I'm a -dressmaker, and that not only pays better, but leaves -me free to keep a little home of my own. I hope -the people in the township need a dressmaker." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed they do if you are willing to work in the -house. The only woman we can get is engaged weeks -beforehand, and then as often as not fails one at the -last minute. If you are good I believe you will -hardly have a day free." -</p> - -<p> -"That's good hearing, but they must accept Eva -with me. I can't leave her, you see. Turn her -into the garden and she is as independent as a puppy. -I think I am good at sewing! As a girl at home -I made most of my own gowns and was often asked -the name of my dressmaker. I decided to come -here as someone I met told me there was a good -opening." -</p> - -<p> -Betty's eyes rested thoughtfully on the speaker -The dusk gave her courage to express her thought. -</p> - -<p> -"I almost wonder you did not go home. You're -not really fitted for a fight with life." -</p> - -<p> -Mrs. Kenyon's chin lifted. "I chose my lot and -will abide by it." -</p> - -<p> -Betty knew she had been guilty of an impertinence -in trying to probe beneath the surface, and -rose to go. -</p> - -<p> -"You'll go to bed now; you won't try to do -anything more when I'm gone," she pleaded. -</p> - -<p> -"No, I'll go to bed chiefly because I must." -</p> - -<p> -"And to-morrow won't be a busy day with me; -you'll let me come again?" -</p> - -<p> -"Surely yes, and thank you for your kindness. -It's been more than manual help; you've heartened -me up; you're so splendidly happy. Your very -step has happiness in it. It must be because you're -so strong." -</p> - -<p> -But there Mrs. Kenyon erred, for Betty's happiness -lay rather in the fact that quite unconsciously she -brought happiness to all about her. -</p> - -<p> -The next morning Jack, sent on a message to the -township, sauntered leisurely past the opposite side -of the lane from Eva's home, casting one furtive -glance to see if she were anywhere in sight, and then -conscious of a rosy face flattened against the gate, -went on with his eyes held steadily in front of him. -Of course if a little girl did not want to be a big boy's -chum—Jack was too young to finish the sentiment, -but a lump of disappointment rose to his throat -and a sudden impulse made him take to his heels -and fly, casting never a backward look. -</p> - -<p> -He was not long gone, for Aunt Betty's orders had -been peremptory. She was pressed for time and -there must be no loitering by the way. He saw that -Eva had pushed open the gate and was wandering -down the lane towards the entrance to the paddock, -a bright spot of colour in her little red overall. The -green road extended beyond Mr. Treherne's land to -another farm some distance further on, and from -the far end of it Jack saw a young bullock trotting -in Eva's direction. Quite used to animals and -wholly unafraid of them this usually would not have -been worthy of remark, but he recognised this -animal as dangerous and perfectly unamenable to -training. Only yesterday he had stood by, an -excited spectator, whilst his grandfather and uncle -had been assisting their neighbour in his efforts to -bring the bullock into subjection, but it had proved -so wild and vicious that it had been driven into a -paddock by itself until its owner could decide what -to do with it. -</p> - -<p> -"Best get rid of it," Mr. Treherne advised, -"get rid of it before it gets you into trouble. -The creature is not safe." -</p> - -<p> -And Mr. Marks, his neighbour, slept upon the -advice and waked in the morning determined to -act upon it, so he and his son after much difficulty -had succeeded in roping the bullock's horns and -between them were going to lead it down to the -township to the butcher, but as the farmer opened -the gate which led into the lane he relaxed his hold -for a moment and the bullock broke away and was -advancing with rapid trot and lowered horns -towards the tempting spot of colour in front of it. -</p> - -<p> -All this Jack took in at a glance and his one thought -was Eva's danger. There was yet some little distance -between her and the angry beast, and he ran rapidly -towards her shouting as he ran. -</p> - -<p> -"Run, Eva, run back home; the bullock isn't safe." -</p> - -<p> -The child, startled by the call, looked round, saw -the animal bearing down upon her and with a howl -of terror turned to fly, but her foot tripped in a rut -and she fell face downwards to the ground, roaring -lustily. There was no time to pick her up and -console her so, little Jack sped past her determined to -put his small person between her and the enemy. -Behind he saw the farmer and his son in hot pursuit. -A moment's delay and the danger would be averted, -but Jack was far too young to argue out the matter -in cool blood. -</p> - -<p> -<a id="p35"></a> -All he felt was the necessity of preventing the -bullock from reaching Eva, and the spirit inherited -from his father made him try to shield her. But -the bullock was dashing towards him with lowered -horns and wild eyes, and Jack with the instinct of -self-preservation raised his arms and threw the parcel -he carried straight at its forehead; the bag broke -with the force of the blow and the flour it contained -came pothering out, blinding and confusing the -angry animal. For a moment it stayed its onward -course, tossing its head to rid itself of the intolerable -dust, and that moment saved the situation, for -Farmer Marks, who had taken a short cut across -another paddock, came bounding over the fence -with his stock-whip in hand and with a tremendous -shout and resounding crack of his whip, caused the -bullock to turn back and plunge madly towards -the field from which it had escaped. It was -driven into a far corner, and the gate by which it -had escaped was made doubly fast. -</p> - -<p> -"And this afternoon it must be dealt with -if I have to put a bullet into it," said the farmer -to his son, "but upon my word it was a near shave -with the little lad. I never saw a pluckier stand -in my life." -</p> - -<p> -Then he hastened back to see what had happened -to Jack, and was considerably concerned to see -Mrs. Kenyon kneeling on the road by his side, and a grave -fear filled him lest, after all, the beast should have -gored the boy; but nothing more serious had occurred -than that Jack, having nerved himself up to the effort -of turning the animal from its course, had suffered -from nervous collapse and fainted. Eva, the -danger over, had picked herself up and come trotting -towards him, had caught sight of his closed eyes -and white face and had rushed screaming to the -house to fetch her mother, crying that a great big -bull had rushed at Jack and he was deaded, deaded -in the road, which alarming information had -brought Mrs. Kenyon at full speed to the rescue. -And there Farmer Marks found her chafing the -boy's hands and trying to restore consciousness. -</p> - -<p> -"I'll carry him to your place where you can took -after him better," he said, stooping to lift the boy -with rough tenderness, and as he carried him he -told the story of Jack's plucky defence of the child -that was smaller than he. -</p> - -<p> -"You may blame me," he said, "as I should have -blamed myself to my dying day if anything had -happened to either of them, but after all the thing -was an accident. I was acting on Treherne's -advice and taking the creature to be put out of -harm's way. That it broke from me so suddenly -was scarcely my fault. I can only assure you it -won't happen again." -</p> - -<p> -"I'm much too thankful a woman to blame anyone," -said Mrs. Kenyon, her bright eyes dimmed with -tears. "He's coming to, I think; leave him to -me, and will you let the Trehernes know that he is -here and safe?" -</p> - -<p> -Jack's eyes opened and he looked round him -with a puzzled air. -</p> - -<p> -"What's happened? Where's Aunt Betty? I'm -all wet," he said. -</p> - -<p> -"It's only a little water I sprinkled on your face," -answered Mrs. Kenyon, seized with an insane desire -to laugh. -</p> - -<p> -Then, moved by a passion of emotion that swept -over her like a flood, she took the little boy in her -arms and covered him with kisses. -</p> - -<p> -Jack struggled for freedom, not best pleased -with this outburst of affection from a stranger. -</p> - -<p> -"I think, please, now I'll get up and go home -to Aunt Betty," he said, but as he spoke the door -opened and Aunt Betty with a halo of ruffled hair -fringing her forehead came towards him, an -undefined fear written in her eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Jack, Jack, my darling!" was all she said. -</p> - -<p> -Jack held out his arms to her, his face all quivering -with the relief of her presence, and to his own great -annoyance began to cry. The shock to his system -was finding a natural outlet, and he was the only -person that regretted the tears. -</p> - -<p> -He was far from feeling a hero as Betty took him -home, for Aunt Betty was always a little vexed -with him when he cried. -</p> - -<p> -"I didn't mean to cry; I didn't really. My -head aches and I feel rather sick. You don't -think me a baby, Aunt Betty?" -</p> - -<p> -Betty's smile was radiant with secret exultation -and pride. -</p> - -<p> -"Not a baby a bit, Jack, but a jolly brave little -nipper who can be trusted to look after any little -girl left to his care. Eva will be chums with you -after this you may be quite sure, and Eva's mother -will feel sure that she will come to no harm with you." -</p> - -<p> -She felt Jack fully deserved this amount of praise, -but at the farm very little more was said about the -adventure. -</p> - -<p> -"I should hate him to be made into a sort of -hero though he is one," she said to Jack's grandmother. -"There is not one little boy in a hundred -that would have kept his head and known what -to do." -</p> - -<p> -So Jack went about the rest of the day a little -whiter and quieter than usual, but when night came, -and Aunt Betty had tucked him into bed after -hearing him say his prayers, he showed some -reluctance to let her go, and for once she humoured -him and sat down by him for a few minutes. -</p> - -<p> -"It seems—as if something were rushing at -me," he said, half ashamed to voice his imaginings. -</p> - -<p> -"There's nothing rushing at you really. It's -a trick your tired head is playing on you," said -Betty soothingly. -</p> - -<p> -"A great big head with horns and eyes that -burn," went on Jack, "a giant's head." -</p> - -<p> -Betty laughed, such a happy contented laugh. -"If a giant at all, Jack, it was like one of the giants -father told you about. You frightened the big -head more than it frightened you. Such a funny -thing to do! to throw a bag of flour at the bullock; -throwing dust in its eyes with a vengeance, and by -the time it got over its surprise it turned round -and thought better of it and went back again." -</p> - -<p> -It all sounded so simple and wholesome, that Jack -joined in Aunt Betty's laughter. -</p> - -<p> -"It was just because I had nothing else to throw. -Do you think father would say I'd frightened a -giant." -</p> - -<p> -"He might," said Betty guardedly, "but I know -what I must say, that you must go to sleep as -quickly as you can. You are a very tired little -boy to-night. Good night, dear boy. I'll leave -the door open so that if that naughty head does not -stop aching you can give me a call." -</p> - -<p> -"He's not a bit himself to-night; he's just a -bundle of nerves. I do hope it won't make him -timid in future," she said a little anxiously as she -rejoined the family in the verandah. -</p> - -<p> -"Not a bit of it," said her father, taking his pipe -from his mouth. "I can tell you from practical -experience it's not a pleasant feeling to see a creature -with horns making a dead set at you. No wonder -the child is upset, but in the morning he'll forget all -about it." -</p> - -<p> -And Mr. Treherne was right. The only lasting -effect of little Jack's adventure was a grave sense -of responsibility when he and Eva were together, -for she was a girl to be protected and cared for. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV -<br /><br /> -A BUSH BROTHER -</h3> - -<p> -It was soon an established fact that the children -spent most of their days together, an intimacy that -at first was rather a trouble to Mrs. Kenyon, who -felt that from mere force of circumstance she could -make no adequate return for the kindness shown -to her little girl at the farm. Her days were of -necessity spent almost entirely from home, as her -expectation of obtaining work was fully justified. -For half the day, either morning or afternoon, Eva -would go with her, but the other half was almost -invariably spent with Jack, who was always lurking -near the gate in readiness to carry off his playmate. -It was in vain for Betty to assure her that this was -a satisfactory arrangement for both parties, that -before Eva's coming Jack's life had been a lonely one. -</p> - -<p> -"It's delightful for the children, but for your -people it must be very often a terrible nuisance; -I must think of some way of making things equal, -or it cannot go on," said Mrs. Kenyon, not many -weeks after her coming. -</p> - -<p> -The opportunity presented itself on the first -occasion when Betty brought a message from her -mother, asking if Mrs. Kenyon could reserve the -next week's work for them. -</p> - -<p> -"Our sewing is all behindhand, and neither -mother nor I have anything fit to put on, but if you -will devise, fit, and cut out, and we all sit at work -together, I think a week will see us through the -worst of it." -</p> - -<p> -"It just happens that I'm free next week, and -I'll come gladly—as a friend, you understand; -exchange is no robbery. Think of all you do for -Eva," and Mrs. Kenyon's head lifted with the odd -little gesture that Betty was beginning to interpret -as a sign that her decision on any subject was -final. Neither did Betty try at the present time -to combat it. -</p> - -<p> -But she was not pleased about it. -</p> - -<p> -"She's too poor to afford to be so independent, -mother," she said, when she went home. -</p> - -<p> -"My dear, let her have her way. We can make -it up to her in many forms, which she will not detect. -Meanwhile one respects that passionate desire for -independence." -</p> - -<p> -"Do you? Carried too far I think it becomes -almost a vice. It blocks real friendship. I should -like to know Mrs. Kenyon's story. I'm sure she -has one." -</p> - -<p> -"When she wishes you to know it she will tell -you," said Betty's mother placidly. -</p> - -<p> -The children meanwhile did everything together, -or to speak more accurately, whatever Jack did, -Eva, his faithful satellite, tried to copy. Happiest of -all was she when, tired with play, Jack would sit -and tell her stories in which his father played -ever a prominent part, and his title in these stories -was always "Father Jack, the Giant Killer," a -name which Eva received with bursts of laughter. -</p> - -<p> -"I shan't tell you any more if you laugh like -that," said Jack one day. -</p> - -<p> -Eva stuffed the corner of her pinafore into her -mouth to stay her unseemly merriment. -</p> - -<p> -"But you don't say all that when you see him. -You don't say 'Good morning, father Jack, -the Giant Killer.'" -</p> - -<p> -"O' course I don't," said Jack with displeased -dignity, "but this is a story about the giants father -fights. He really fights giants." -</p> - -<p> -Eva's eyes rounded in alarm. "Does he k-kill -them like your story says?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, he catches 'em and makes 'em do what -he wants. What do you think he's catching -now?" -</p> - -<p> -"Goannas," said Eva quickly, whose special -terror were the large lizards called iguanas which -occasionally invaded the garden, or that she and -Jack found about the farm and which Jack drove -away with adorable courage. -</p> - -<p> -Jack gave a contemptuous laugh. "What silly -things girls are! This is a true story I'm telling -you. Father catches the air, at least he rides up -in it in a thing called an airy-plane, and he makes -the air help to carry him along." -</p> - -<p> -It was neither a very lucid nor accurate description -of his father's methods, but it filled his hearer -with awe and wonder. -</p> - -<p> -"Not really!" -</p> - -<p> -"But yes," reiterated Jack, "and when I'm old -enough, I'll ride in an airy-plane too. Come along; -I've told you plenty of stories for to-day. Let's -come and play airy-planes," so round and round the -paddock scampered the children, with arms -outspread like wings, arms which flapped occasionally -as the speed became greater to the accompaniment -of a whirring sound intended feebly to imitate the -buzz of a motor bicycle. -</p> - -<p> -"Faster, faster," cried Jack breathlessly. "Airy-planes -flies at an awful rate," but Eva's fat legs -were failing her and her arms fell to her side with a -little gasp like the wheeze of exhausted bellows. -</p> - -<p> -"Can't—run—no—more," she said, throwing herself -on the grass, and Jack after one more triumphant -circle threw himself by her side. -</p> - -<p> -Leaning over the gate with his arms folded on the -top was a man, who had stood there unperceived, -watching the children's play with quiet amusement. -Now as it came to an end he laughed aloud, a kindly -genial laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"That was really a fine exhibition," he said -unlatching the gate and coming towards them, -"and deserves a round of applause," and suiting -the action to the word he clapped his hands together -with all his might. -</p> - -<p> -Jack sprang to his feet, surveying the stranger -with frankly questioning eyes, but Eva, too -exhausted to speak, sat where she was. -</p> - -<p> -"Did you know what we were playing at? -asked Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"I must confess I heard you naming it. You -were pretending to be aeroplanes, weren't you? -but it was so excellent an imitation that I think -I could have guessed. But isn't it rather a tiring -game for a little girl like this?" -</p> - -<p> -"I don't know; Eva likes to do what I do, -don't you, Eva?" -</p> - -<p> -Eva sat bolt upright and nodded. -</p> - -<p> -"Your little sister, I expect, and a good deal -younger than you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not sister; we're chums, that's all, but it's just -as good. She's five, and I'm seven, but I'm big -for my age, aren't I?" -</p> - -<p> -The stranger laughed, and seating himself on the -grass, drew Jack down beside him. -</p> - -<p> -"Quite big; I thought you might be eight. -Having told me this much I must hear a little more. -I'm getting interested. May I hear your name?" -</p> - -<p> -"Jack—Jack Stephens; but here they always -call me Jack, the Englishman, 'cause father's a -captain in the English Navy." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! I felt somehow that we should be friends. -Shake hands, Jack, the Englishman, for I'm an -Englishman, too. I've not been long in the colony," -and Jack's small hand was almost lost in the palm -of his new friend. -</p> - -<p> -"And what does the little girl call herself? I -think she has found breath enough to tell me." -</p> - -<p> -Eva lifted a round face dimpled with smiles to -the questioner. His deep resonant voice and kindly -smile inspired confidence. -</p> - -<p> -"Eva," she said. -</p> - -<p> -"And the rest? You must be something besides -Eva," but Eva stood staring at him, not quite -understanding the form in which he had put his question. -Jack gave her a little nudge. "Tell him, Eva, -that your mother is Mrs. Kenyon." -</p> - -<p> -A quick change passed over the face of the -listener; the humour of it resolved itself into an -earnest gravity. -</p> - -<p> -"Kenyon!" he repeated quickly. "It's a name -I know something of. Do father and mother live -anywhere near here, Eva? I would rather like to -go and see them, if I might." -</p> - -<p> -"Haven't no father," said Eva, with a quick -shake of the head. "Never had no father. Mother -lives close by." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, come along, Eva. Just take me to see -mother. Perhaps she can tell me something of the -Kenyon I am seeking. Are you called Eva after -mother?" -</p> - -<p> -Eva laughed and shook her head. "No; mother -has a hard name to say. I can't always say it just -right. Cla—Cla——" -</p> - -<p> -"—rissa," said the strange man, supplying the -missing syllables. "Is mother's Christian name -Clarissa?" -</p> - -<p> -Eva clapped her hands, jumping up and down -with excitement. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Jack, he's like the conjurer what tells you -things he doesn't ought to know. Isn't it clever -of him to find out mummy's name?" But Jack -was intently watching the stranger's face, wondering -greatly why it twitched as if he were in pain. -</p> - -<p> -"P'raps he's got the toothache," was his solution -of the difficulty, not knowing that heartache was -the trouble. -</p> - -<p> -"Take me to mummy," said the stranger again, -holding out his hand. -</p> - -<p> -"We've telled you both our names; you've not -telled us yours." -</p> - -<p> -"That will come later; for the present it's enough -for you to know that I'm a bush brother." -</p> - -<p> -The children exchanged bewildered glances; the -explanation threw no light upon the stranger. -</p> - -<p> -"We don't know what that means," said Jack, -politely. -</p> - -<p> -"That, too, I must tell you at some other time; -but now I must get Eva to take me home—home to -mummy, home to Clarissa Kenyon." -</p> - -<p> -Greatly wondering, the trio moved towards the -gate; but there Jack halted. Some instinct told -him that just now he was not wanted, and much as -he wished to know the end of this strange story, he -determined to go home and wait till he saw Eva -again. -</p> - -<p> -He was a little piqued that his new acquaintance -was apparently too much absorbed in his own -thoughts to take any notice of his leaving, but Eva -glanced back with a little nod. -</p> - -<p> -"I'll be back directly dinner's over, Jack. Does -you always walk as fast as this?" she went on, -glancing up at her companion, whose long stride -necessitated a quick trot on her part. -</p> - -<p> -"When I'm in a hurry, Eva; and I'm in a hurry -now," and then, dropping the little hot hand he -held, he broke into a run, for coming down the lane -towards them came Eva's mother, returning from a -morning's work to dinner. -</p> - -<p> -And then a strange thing happened, for Eva, who -stood stock still with legs set rather far apart, saw -mummy give a start backwards as if half frightened -by something, then heard her break into a little cry, -and the next moment she was caught into the -stranger's arms and held tightly to his breast. She -did not like such rough treatment! Eva was -certain she did not like it, for mummy, who never -cried, was sobbing with all her might, great big sobs -as if she were angry or hurt. So Eva fled forward, -anxious to defend, hammering with all the might of -her young fists upon the assailant's legs. -</p> - -<p> -"Let go, let go, you wicked, wicked man," she said. -"Don't you see you are hurting my mummy and -making her cry? Let go, I say," and the man did -let go, smiling down at the child with eyes that were -full of tears. -</p> - -<p> -"You can ask mummy for yourself if I've hurt or -made her glad," he said very gently. -</p> - -<p> -"Hush, Eva, hush," said Mrs. Kenyon, taking her -little daughter by the hand. "You don't understand -that I'm crying because I'm glad—gladder than -I've been for many a year, so glad that it makes me -cry; and all because my brother, your Uncle Tom, -has come to see me; and how he got here and how -he has found me out remains yet to tell. Come in, -come in, my Tom. Let us get into the shelter of -the house and let me look at you and make quite -sure that it is in very deed my brother Tom who -talks to me. But your voice rings true, your dear, -kind voice that I had thought never to hear again." -</p> - -<p> -She struggled to the seat in the verandah and -pulled him down beside, gazing into his face with -hungry eyes. It was bliss enough to look at him -after the long lapse of years, to hold his hand between -her own, which would hardly cover one of his. -</p> - -<p> -"You always had such big hands, Tom, such big, -kind hands that seem to carry help and consolation -in their very touch. Oh, how I've wanted you -sometimes since—he died." -</p> - -<p> -She did not name her husband, but Tom knew well -enough she referred to the father little Eva could not -remember. -</p> - -<p> -"But you could have had me for the asking," he -said gently. -</p> - -<p> -"I know, I know, but pride would not let me. -How could I appeal to you for help when father and -Walter—that elder brother of mine—told me that -in marrying George I made my final choice between -them and him? And you were away, away in -Canada, and George just about to return to the -colony. We were madly in love, he and I, so I -married him and came out with him. I don't say -life was easy, Tom; I don't know whether I did -right or wrong in marrying George, but I do know -this—that from that day to this I never regretted it. -He was the dearest and best of men, and we were -devoted to each other. I own that when he got ill -he suffered agonies of self-reproach in having allowed -me to come out with him, but if I had life over -again I should have chosen him before all living -men. You see father had decided on another match. -George, as he lay dying, tried to make me promise -to go home, but I told him I never would do it, that -I was strong enough and young enough to support -myself and the child." -</p> - -<p> -"Young enough, but scarcely strong enough, I -take it," said Tom, slipping his arm round the slight -frame. -</p> - -<p> -She crept up closer to him. "I don't feel young," -she said. "The buffeting of life has made me feel -old and cold. If I could forgive father the part he -played——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, hush," said her brother, "surely you will -forgive him, as God will forgive us all. Father died -a few months ago." -</p> - -<p> -Clarissa drew herself away, stiffening into stony -silence, her hands folded in her lap. Dead! her -father dead, and she not a moment since speaking -angry, unforgiving words of one who had passed -into the presence of the Great White Throne! It -was forgiveness for herself that she craved for now, -forgiveness for all the hard thoughts she had -harboured against him since they parted in such hot -anger, forgiveness that in her pride she had made no -effort to break through the barrier of silence built -up between them. Never a line had she either -written to home or received from it since that hasty -flight of between six and seven years ago. -</p> - -<p> -Eva, feeling that matters had passed beyond her -childish ken, had slipped away into the back garden, -and was solacing her loneliness with a game with the -new kitten that they had given her up at the farm, -so the brother and sister were left alone. Tom -understood something of the conflict that was -passing in his sister's mind and wisely held his peace. -He left her to the teaching of the still small voice -which was making itself heard in her heart with -gentle insistence. -</p> - -<p> -"I suppose he never forgave me," she said at last. -</p> - -<p> -"I did not hear him mention your name until his -last illness. Then, when his mind wandered, your -name was often on his lips, showing that you still -held your place in his heart. He left you an annuity -of £150 a year. Walter tried his level best to track -you to tell you about it, but up to this time his -search was quite unsuccessful. We wrote to the -post-office authorities, but they did not help us; -we gave your name to the leading firm of lawyers -in Launceston and Hobart, we advertised in the -local papers, but nothing came of any of our -enquiries. Then I decided to come and work as a -bush parson in the colonies for some years before -settling down in an English parish, and I thought -it not unlikely that I might find some clue to your -whereabouts, and all in a moment I found you -by the most unlikely means in the world. I stood -watching two little children playing in a field near -by, went in and made friends with them, and -discovered in one of them my own little niece, who -brought me straight home to mummy. Some people -may call it a happy chance, but I prefer to regard it -as a direct Providence." -</p> - -<p> -"What made you come here at all?" -</p> - -<p> -"The fact that your own parson broke down, as -you know, quite suddenly, and was ordered away -for rest; the bishop knew I was at work somewhere -in this neighbourhood, and wrote to ask me if I -could combine my peregrinations in the bush with -Sunday services in this and the other churches -connected with this parish until such time as he -can find a <i>locum</i>. He is terribly short-handed at -present. I'm very thankful to be able to give my -services free of charge, for while the bulk of the -property goes with the estate to Walter, my father -has left me a sufficient income to make me -independent of any stipend from the Church. If I take -an English living at some future period it will be -one with a simply nominal income that a man -without private means could not accept. At -present I find my nomadic life so absorbingly -interesting that I have no immediate intention of -returning home." -</p> - -<p> -"And you will work near here? How wonderful -and delightful! What a change one short half-hour -has made in life's outlook. Poor father! Did -he leave me that annuity out of pity, do you think? -No, you need not be afraid that I shall refuse it. -My pride is broken down. It seems a poor thing to -have let it stand between him and me, and now—I -can't even say I'm sorry." -</p> - -<p> -"I forget the exact wording of the will, but I -think it said 'lest she should come to want.'" -</p> - -<p> -Clarissa flushed a little. "I have not wanted, -but it's been a hard struggle, and if my health had -failed"—her voice broke for a moment. "But now, -with £150 a year at my back, the worst fear, the one -that has kept me awake at nights sometimes, that -the child would suffer, is entirely taken away. One -can live the simple life out here, none despising -you." -</p> - -<p> -"And you think I shall be content to leave it at -that?" -</p> - -<p> -"You will have to be content," and his sister -slipped her hand into his. "If I needed help at -any time I know you will be glad to give it, but I -chose my own life in marrying my George, and I'll -abide by it. I've no wish to return to England, -and what will keep me here in comfort would be -grinding poverty at home." -</p> - -<p> -"Walter will never consent to your remaining out -here." -</p> - -<p> -Clarissa smiled a little sadly. "He may protest -a little, but in his inmost heart he'll not be sorry to -leave things as they are. We shall get on quite -nicely fifteen thousand miles apart." -</p> - -<p> -A little head peeped round the corner, and a -piteous voice made piteous appeal. -</p> - -<p> -"Mummy, I'm not naughty. Mayn't I have my -dinner, please? Bush brother can stay if he wants -to." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V -<br /><br /> -A CHURCH OFFICIAL -</h3> - -<p> -Neither game nor story was needed for the -children's amusement that afternoon. They sat side -by side on the grass with their heads very close -together discussing the exciting event of the morning, -the strange man's visit and his puzzling profession; -at least Jack was extremely puzzled and not at all -satisfied by Eva's explanation. -</p> - -<p> -"He's mummy's brother, don't you see? and -my uncle. That's what he means when he says -he's a bush brother." -</p> - -<p> -Jack shook his head incredulously. "Mummy's -brother and bush brother can't mean the same," -he said. -</p> - -<p> -"Pr'aps he calls himself 'bush' 'cause he's got -a beard," Eva suggested. -</p> - -<p> -"That's silly! A bush has got nothing to do -with a beard." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, it has," said Eva nodding her head, "birds -build in bushes and they build in beards." -</p> - -<p> -Jack fairly screamed with laughter. "Who's -stuffed you up with that nonsense?" -</p> - -<p> -"It's not nonsense," said Eva, almost in tears. -"It's in a book mummy gave me, and there's a -picture of the man and a verse about him too, so it -must be true. Mummy teached me the verse." -</p> - -<p> -"Say it, then," said Jack, mockingly, and Eva -folded her arms behind her plump little person, -knitting her brows in the effort to quicken memory. -</p> - -<p> - "There was an old man with a beard,<br /> - Who said 'It's just as I feared,<br /> - Two owls and a wren, four larks and a hen<br /> - Have <i>all</i> built their nests in my beard.'<br /> -</p> - -<p> -"THERE!" -</p> - -<p> -Only capital letters could express the triumph -of the final exclamation, but Jack laughed louder -and longer than ever. -</p> - -<p> -"But it isn't true," he said. -</p> - -<p> -"O' course it's true. It's in a book, and there's -the picture. Mummy shall show you," reiterated -Eva, stamping her foot. -</p> - -<p> -The quarrel promised to be a pretty one, when, all -unperceived, the man whose beard was under -discussion had come into the garden and stood by them. -Eva ran towards him, putting her hand in his. -</p> - -<p> -"Uncle Tom, tell him, please. He won't b'lieve me." -</p> - -<p> -"It's all about beards," said Jack. "Eva says -birds build in 'em same as they do in bushes, and -o' course they don't. It's just nonsense." -</p> - -<p> -"No bird has tried to build in mine at present," -said Uncle Tom, stroking his thoughtfully. "What -made you think of such a funny thing, Eva?" -</p> - -<p> -It took a minute or two to unravel the thread of -the children's discussion, and Uncle Tom sat -chuckling to himself as they talked. -</p> - -<p> -"The simplest way of putting the matter straight -will be to tell you what I mean by calling myself a -bush brother, won't it?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said the children in chorus. -</p> - -<p> -"It's neither being mummy's brother nor the -beard I grow that gives me the title——" -</p> - -<p> -Jack gave Eva a nudge. -</p> - -<p> -"But it's the calling that I've chosen for the -present. There were a few parsons in England——" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! it's parsons who are called bush brothers, -is it?" asked Jack, a little disappointed at so -commonplace an explanation. -</p> - -<p> -"No, not all parsons, but just a few of us who -have undertaken a particular kind of work. We -heard of Englishmen who had emigrated to the -colonies and settled in places very far away from -their fellows, who year after year lived out their -lonely lives never getting a chance to have their -little children baptized, or their sick people visited, -whose Sundays were just spent like other days -because they had no services to go to, so a few of us -banded ourselves together in a sort of brotherhood——" -</p> - -<p> -"What's that mean?" Jack asked. -</p> - -<p> -"A society or company that binds itself together -to do the same work, and the work we brothers put -before us was to come out to the colonies for a few -years and make it our special business to find out -all the lonely settlers in the bush and visit them, and -try to gather them together for little services. Now -you see why we call ourselves bush brothers: because -our work lies, not in townships and places such as -this, although I am going to be here on Sundays for -a little while whilst your clergyman is away on sick -leave, but we wander from place to place, to all the -most distant homesteads, some of them buried -miles and miles away in the bush." -</p> - -<p> -"Does you walk?" asked Eva in her matter-of-fact -fashion. -</p> - -<p> -"Sometimes I walk and sometimes, when I know -the distance is too great, I hire a horse and ride, and -sometimes the way is hard to find, and I get lost. I -was lost for two whole days not long ago, and had -to camp out at night without either food or shelter. -I was glad, I can tell you, when I struck the track -again and found myself not far from a farm where -they showed me the greatest kindness. I spent a -Sunday there, and the farmer and his sons gathered -together a few other people not far away, and we -had service in a barn, and I baptized three little -children that had been born since last a parson had -visited them. I stayed there for a week, and gave -the children lessons every day, and they were so -pleased and eager to learn, poor mites. They did -not even know the stories about Jesus when He was -a baby. It's not often I find children as ignorant -as that, but many of them get very little teaching -about the Bible. Very often there is not a Bible in -the house. I don't always have tiny congregations. -Last Sunday I was miles away up there," pointing -to the bush-clad hills which bounded the horizon, -"where there are some large lumber works, and -quite a lot of men are at work there. So I spent -the few days before in making friends with them, -and asking them to meet me at service on Sunday, -and we had quite a fine service in the open air, and -you should have heard the singing. It was glorious." -</p> - -<p> -"I'd like it ever so much better than going to the -wooden church down here," said Jack. -</p> - -<p> -Uncle Tom laughed genially. "Aren't you fond -of going to church, then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not very; you've got to sit so quiet. I like -the singing though, and it's not so dull now Eva -comes too." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, well; we'll see if you can't learn to like -it better. Meanwhile, let's have a game before I pay -my respects to your grandfather and grandmother." -</p> - -<p> -"Cricket?" cried Jack joyfully. -</p> - -<p> -"Capital! it's ever so long since I played a game -of cricket." -</p> - -<p> -Betty, as fresh as the morning in her trim white -gown, came out to join the party in the garden, and -Jack hastened to introduce her to his new friend. -</p> - -<p> -"Here's Aunt Betty; she'll play too, if you ask -her. She's a splendid field, and will catch you out -first ball unless you're careful." -</p> - -<p> -Betty and Uncle Tom laughed as they shook hands. -</p> - -<p> -"I've already made friends with your nephew, -Miss Treherne, and was coming to call on the rest -of you this afternoon, when the children beguiled -me by the way. Will you really honour us by joining -in our game, though I ask it in fear and trembling -after hearing of your prowess?" -</p> - -<p> -"Jack gives me the credit for doing everything -better than anyone else, a reputation I find it -impossible to sustain, but I love to play." -</p> - -<p> -A very spirited game followed, which ended -finally in Betty's catching out the parson, to Jack's -unspeakable triumph. -</p> - -<p> -"And after your warning, too," he said, throwing -down the bat in comic despair. "And now I must -pay my call, and then Eva and I must trot home. -My sister said she would be back at six o'clock, and -we must be there to meet her." -</p> - -<p> -"I'm so glad you've come; it will be so lovely -for Mrs. Kenyon to have one of her own relations -with her. I think she has been very lonely." -</p> - -<p> -Uncle Tom turned to the kindling, sympathetic face. -</p> - -<p> -"She would have been desolate indeed without -the kindness she has received from you and yours. -It was an unhappy chance that separated us, but -such separation will be impossible again," said Tom -Chance, and that was all the explanation that he felt -it needful to offer or that Betty wished to hear. -</p> - -<p> -When Tom and Eva returned at last to the cottage, -the sound that greeted them as they entered was -vigorous scrubbing, interspersed with fitful singing, -and Tom pushed open the door of the inner room -to see his sister on her knees scrubbing the floor -with might and main, until the boards shone again -with whiteness. He put his arms round her and -swung her to her feet. -</p> - -<p> -"How dare you do it, Birdie? What shall I say -to you for setting to work like that at the end of a -long day's sewing?" -</p> - -<p> -The joy of hearing her old pet name, and feeling -the masterful touch of his strong hands, brought -tears to Clarissa's eyes, but a laugh to her lips. -</p> - -<p> -"It's so good to hear you talk," she said, bending -back her face to kiss him, "but I was bound to do -it to get the room all fresh and clean for you to-night, -for of course you'll come here to your prophet's -chamber, just a bed and a chair and candlestick. -</p> - -<p> -"Betty looked in half-an-hour ago, and wanted -to do the scrubbing, but I would not let her. That -joy was mine, I told her." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, I saw her slip away as I sat chatting with -the old people, but I did not know she was off to -lend you a hand." -</p> - -<p> -"Lend a hand! she seems blessed with a dozen -pairs, and they are always busy in helping other -people, notably me. Had I a sister, she should be -made on Betty's model. You must not think that -I live in a muddle like this, but a visitor—and such -a visitor—has upset the equilibrium of my -establishment. Tea is laid out in the verandah. Just -give me a moment to tidy my hair and wash my -hands, and you will see I've not been unmindful of -your creature comforts." -</p> - -<p> -And truly, the meal prepared looked dainty and -appetizing. -</p> - -<p> -"I should say the catering of this household runs -to extravagance," said her brother, smiling at her. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, for to-night, it's a case of fatted calf, and -besides, I feel money at my back." -</p> - -<p> -In clearing away afterwards, Tom showed himself -as handy as any woman. Washing up plates and -dishes he declared his speciality! -</p> - -<p> -"But how did you learn it all?" asked Clarissa, -pausing in her task of drying the things Tom handed -her. -</p> - -<p> -"In the same way you have done, by experience. -In the course of my wanderings I have come across -many a young fellow as gently nurtured as I am, -batching in what I call squalor, so my task has been -to put things straight, and keep them tidy and clean, -as far as I knew how to do it. I think it lowers a -man's self-respect to live in dirt and discomfort, so -when any fellow has put me up for a day or two, I've -tried to repay his hospitality by the labour of my -hands, to make myself worth my keep as I hope to -do here, if you will let me." -</p> - -<p> -"But I won't! My augmented income will allow -me to have a girl in now and again to do the hard -work, and oh! if you knew the joy it is to me to -have someone of my very own to look after again. -Come along, Eva; it's time for bath and bed, and -then, Tom, you and I will sit out in the verandah -and talk." -</p> - -<p> -Their conversation lasted far into the night, -albeit desultory in character. They made no effort -to pick up tangled threads, but Clarissa, nestling -against her brother's side, with his protecting arm -thrown round her, with the star-spangled sky overhead, -and the silence of the night about her, experienced -a sense of peace and happiness that had not -been hers for years. Her mind went back to the -early days at home, and many a childish reminiscence -was recalled, over which the brother and sister joined -in laughter that had something of pathos in it. -And then she spoke of the first bitter trouble of her -girlhood, the loss of the mother she adored when she -was only twelve years old. -</p> - -<p> -"I can't help feeling that if mother had lived, I -never should have come to loggerheads with father. -We both should have acted differently. He would -have been less hard, and I less stubborn, but it's -curious how the knowledge that he is dead has -changed my own point of view. To-day I've felt -myself more to blame than he. I wish I had taken -dear George's advice, and offered to go back. Even -if he had refused to have me, I should feel now that -I had made some effort towards reconciliation." -</p> - -<p> -"He would not have refused," Tom said. "I -believe he was hungering after you in his inmost -heart, but it's no use going back on the past. It -only saps your energy for present action. If you -made a mistake, dear, you've paid for it heavily, -and God in His goodness can make even our -mistakes stepping stones to lead us up to Him." -</p> - -<p> -"I don't feel as if I had even begun to climb," -said Clarissa, in a whisper. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, yes," was the reassuring answer, "in your -devotion to husband and child, in your -self-sacrifice, absolute and complete, you must have -drawn nearer to God, whether you knew it or not." -</p> - -<p> -Clarissa gave an indrawn sob. "You were -always such a dear boy, Tom. You used to pick -me up and console me when I fell, and the falls -were so numerous—I was such a tom-boy—and now -you are picking me up after a more serious stumble, -and making me feel as if I shall walk again." -</p> - -<p> -"I will run in the way of Thy commandments," -said Tom, more to himself than to his sister. "I -always think the man who wrote that led a very -joyous sort of existence, a cheerful sort of fellow -who had given up his whole life to God." -</p> - -<p> -"You make religion seem so real, Tom. You -always did." -</p> - -<p> -There was a long pause, and the answer when it -came was spoken from the depth of the man's heart. -</p> - -<p> -"Surely—it's the one great reality; nothing else -matters much." -</p> - -<p> -The next day was Saturday, and directly -breakfast was over Tom went down the township to -find the little wooden fabric which represented the -English church. He got the key from a house near -by and let himself in by a door which had sunk -on its hinges, and opened unwillingly. There was -no sign of beauty in the barn-like building, and except -that the altar was nicely cared for and had flowers -upon it the whole place filled Tom with a sense of -desolation. Truly church life in many of these -places needed reformation. Small wonder that it -took the heart out of many a man who began life -filled with zeal and hopefulness to find himself -with three or four scattered country parishes on -his hands, with people kindly inclined and ever -hospitable, but with narrow means, and whose -church-life from want of fostering had become -almost dead. To Tom Chance, fresh from the -stirring life of a town parish at home, it seemed as if -it needed a special outpouring of the Holy Ghost -to set the thing in motion, and it was for that he -prayed as he knelt for a few minutes on the -altar-step. And then a step roused him, a child's step -coming in at the door, and turning he saw his friend -of yesterday, Jack Stephens, with his hands full -of flowers, and a letter carried between his teeth. -He laid down the flowers with due care, took the -letter and turned it over lovingly in his hands. -</p> - -<p> -"It's my very own," he said, smiling up at Tom, -"I fetched it from the post office just now. I -get one every week from father, and I have to -answer it, but my letters are very short and his are -very long." -</p> - -<p> -"And the flowers," asked Tom. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, they are Aunt Betty's; I bring them down -every Saturday, and she comes presently and puts -them up there," pointing to the altar. -</p> - -<p> -"I s'pose I'll have to wait until she comes to -hear my letter." -</p> - -<p> -"You can't read it for yourself, then." -</p> - -<p> -"Not just all," breaking open the envelope and -unfolding the letter. "I know the beginning: -'My dearest Jack,' and the end"—swiftly turning -over the sheet he held and tracing the words with -his finger—"'Loving father, Jack,' but I can't -read the middles yet. I s'pose you can read letters -as easily as Aunt Betty." -</p> - -<p> -"I expect I can." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you could read this to me, and I needn't -wait." -</p> - -<p> -"Will Aunt Betty mind, do you think?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why should she? There's no secrets in it." -</p> - -<p> -So Tom sat down on one of the wooden benches, -and Jack sat beside him, and the letter was read aloud. -</p> - -<p> -"Once more, please," said Jack, when it came -to the finish, "and then I shall know all it says." So -once again Tom read the letter very distinctly. -</p> - -<p> -"I don't think it's wrong to read father's letter in -church. He seems such a very good kind of man," said -Tom, as he handed the letter back to Jack's keeping. -</p> - -<p> -"Why should it be wrong?" Jack answered -in great astonishment. -</p> - -<p> -"Because this little house is God's special house, -not to be used for just everyday things; but there are -some letters one likes to read aloud here—St. Paul's -for example." -</p> - -<p> -"I did not know he wrote any," Jack said. -</p> - -<p> -Tom took up a Bible and showed Jack some of -the Epistles, explaining to him that the word meant -the same as letter, and Jack grew quite excited and -interested. -</p> - -<p> -"And did they come by post same as mine," -he said. -</p> - -<p> -"No, there were no posts then; they were all -carried by hand, and we can think of some room -like this quite full of people listening to what the -apostle had written to them. Such long letters they -were; ever so much longer than father's, with -a number of messages to different people at the -end. As you grow older, you'll be able to read them -for yourself." -</p> - -<p> -It all sounded so real and interesting that Jack -did not in the least realise that he was having a -Bible lesson, and when Betty came in, he ran to -tell her all about it. -</p> - -<p> -"So you do the flowers. I thought them the -prettiest thing in the church." -</p> - -<p> -"It's not pretty, and there is no money to make -it pretty," said Betty regretfully. "We are none -of us well-to-do, and there are not many who seem -to think it matters. The bell came down a little while -ago, and no one has made any effort to rehang it." -</p> - -<p> -Yes, there it lay in the corner of the porch; such -a small bell, and yet it had served to show the church -was alive and at work. -</p> - -<p> -"But that seems such a small matter. Surely -that could be readjusted." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, father thought it really did not matter, -for any boy who happens to be here rings it and -pulls it too roughly, and it gets out of order." -</p> - -<p> -"But here you have a ready-made bellringer," -said Tom, looking at Jack. "Standing upon a hassock, -Jack could quite well ring that little bell, and -he would do it gently and carefully. I think Jack -must be the bellringer, and I will see about the bell -being put in order to-day. I think a bell is a good -thing. It lets people know we are at work." -</p> - -<p> -Jack grew crimson with delight. It made him -feel quite a man that he should be singled out to -ring the bell. -</p> - -<p> -"May I, Aunt Betty: May I ring the bell?" -</p> - -<p> -"Surely, Jack, if you're man enough." -</p> - -<p> -So that afternoon saw Tom at work with a -carpenter he had got hold of in the township, -climbing up to the tiny bell-turret, and getting the -bell once again into position with a brand new -rope hanging inside wherewith to pull it, and on -Sunday Jack awoke with the dawn and talked of -nothing but the honour which was to be his that -day, the office of bell-ringer. He was to call for -Tom Chance on his way down to the church and -to have his first lesson. -</p> - -<p> -Eva was left to follow later with her mother, and -never was boy prouder than Jack when he marched -off, hand-in-hand, with the parson. -</p> - -<p> -"S'pose I can't do it," he said with a little gasp -as he entered, pulling off his straw hat. -</p> - -<p> -"But you're sure to do it; it's a small bell and -handled gently will be quite easy to ring. You -may have to stand upon a chair." -</p> - -<p> -That Sunday as the congregation dribbled into -church much amusement and some pleasure was -felt at the sight of the grave-faced little boy in a -spotless sailor suit who stood upright as a dart -upon a chair ringing the bell with care and precision, -pink with the importance of his mission. -</p> - -<p> -A nod from Tom as he came out of the tiny vestry -in his robes told him when to stop, and he climbed -down to the floor, tied up the rope so that no one -should play with it, and crept to his place by Aunt -Betty's side. -</p> - -<p> -"He won't find it dull any more now he has his -own work to do," thought Tom at the end of service, -and Tom was right. -</p> - -<p> -There was no keener churchman in the township -than little Jack. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap06"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VI -<br /><br /> -MINISTERING CHILDREN -</h3> - -<p> -Jack's life seemed full of happenings at present, -but the greatest of them was the advent of the bush -brother. There was really more to tell father than the -page of ruled copy-book paper upon which his weekly -letter was written could compass. With the stimulus -of that weekly letter his writing progressed by leaps -and bounds, and expression did not seem so difficult -when Aunt Betty told him to try and put down on -paper the very things he would just say to father -were he there to talk to, but it must be owned that -the spelling, even with constant prompting from -Aunt Betty left much to be desired. -</p> - -<p> -"ive a chum a little gurl not so big as me we -dus lesuns at wunce, but she nos nothin but her -letters." -</p> - -<p> -Then a few weeks later: -</p> - -<p> -"a man has cum a parsun, but not like ours hes a -bush bruther and hes tort me ring the bell so now -I go quite erly to church on sunday and ring quite -regler." -</p> - -<p> -Betty indulged in many a laugh over the letters -when completed, but to Jack's father they brought -huge delight. -</p> - -<p> -Much of what Jack said to father, and father said -to Jack, was confided to Tom Chance at the rare -intervals when the little boy could secure the parson's -attention to himself, for Tom was a busy man and -away for the principal part of every week, either -touring in the bush or visiting the other three parishes, -none less than twelve miles from the township, -that were confided to his temporary care. Father's -parable about Giants was also passed on in full -with a few embellishments of Jack's own. -</p> - -<p> -"A good notion that of father's," said Tom, "a -notion that catches on. After all the world is just -full of giants that we must subdue to our will. -There's a many-headed giant that we may call Evil -that we've all promised to fight, that we pray -against every day. Deliver us from evil; everything -that is wicked and bad, and then there's another -giant God suffers in the world, the giant of illness -and bodily suffering, but there are people who are -fighting that with might and main, kind and clever -doctors, such as you have here. If you want to find -giants to subdue you will have no difficulty in -discovering them." -</p> - -<p> -"But I'm going to be just the same as father," -said Jack sturdily. "I'm going to be an airman, -same as he." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, well, time will show," said Tom good-humouredly. -</p> - -<p> -That talk had taken place one Sunday as they -went down to church together. Tom usually made his -re-appearance in the township on Saturday afternoon, -and the moment after their dinner, Jack and Eva -would wander down to the end of the lane and -between their games watch eagerly for his coming. -It was a matter of weekly speculation how he would -arrive, whether walking, or on horseback, or upon a -bicycle. It all depended upon the distances that he -had to compass during the week, but it made the -watching all the more exciting; but whenever and -however he appeared he was sure of an enthusiastic -welcome from his two devoted adherents. Although -the vicarage was empty he remained with his -sister, as it did not seem worth while to set up an -establishment of his own for so short a period. -</p> - -<p> -On one particular Saturday afternoon when the -time for his appearing was long past, the children's -patience began to ebb. -</p> - -<p> -"Don't b'lieve he's coming at all," said Eva -dejectedly. -</p> - -<p> -"Lots of things may have happened," Jack -answered, "his bike may have punctured, or his -horse may have cast a shoe, or he may be very -tired and can't walk fast." -</p> - -<p> -Jack was prepared for every contingency but the -notion that Tom would not turn up at all, that -would be little short of a calamity, but a prolonged -glance down the road showed something moving in -the far distance. -</p> - -<p> -"There's someone on horseback riding beside -a wagon, but I don't think it's Uncle Tom," Jack -continued, for Tom Chance had adopted him as -nephew. "He's crawling like a snail." -</p> - -<p> -But as the wagon drew nearer the outrider was -without doubt their uncle, and Jack raised a shout -of welcome which received no response by word -or look. The clergyman's face was turned towards -the wagon. -</p> - -<p> -"It may be a——funeral," said Jack, under his -breath. "Uncle Tom looks so solemn and sad." -</p> - -<p> -Eva's rosy cheeks paled. "I think I'm going -home to mummy," she said trotting off down the -lane, but Jack divided between anxiety and curiosity -held his ground. -</p> - -<p> -"Uncle Tom, what is it? Why don't you look -at me?" he said, drawing near as the wagon -approached. -</p> - -<p> -"A girl who's very ill; I'm taking her to the -doctor. Run home now, Jack. I may see you -later. If Aunt Betty is about ask her to come -on to the doctor's. I know she will be of use." -</p> - -<p> -Jack took in the situation with one frightened -glance. The bottom of the wagon was filled with -a mattress and pillows on which a girl of about -thirteen or fourteen was stretched. Her eyes were -closed and lines of pain were round nose and -mouth, and occasionally a moan of pain broke from -her lips. Pain was a new experience in his childish -life, and Jack, charged with his message, turned and -fled. -</p> - -<p> -He soon found Aunt Betty, and told her about it, -and the next minute she had put on her hat and -was flying by a short cut across the paddock towards -the doctor's house where the wagon had just -arrived. -</p> - -<p> -Dr. Wilson gave a pleased nod when he caught -sight of Betty. -</p> - -<p> -"Run on, will you, to Mrs. Mason's, just opposite -the church. She will take in my patient if she has -a bed to spare, and knows the way to look after -them," and Betty with one sympathetic glance at -the pretty face of the sufferer sped on her way. -Mrs. Mason was at home and was able to put a room -at the doctor's disposal, and Betty only waited until -the girl was safely lodged there and to find out if -there were any needs that she and her mother could -supply, before slipping off home again. She found -the family at supper, but Jack saw the face that -nearly always smiled at him shadowed with anxiety. -</p> - -<p> -"Is it a bad case, do you think?" her mother asked. -"What is the poor child's name?" -</p> - -<p> -"Jessie Butler, and she comes from some back -block behind Wylmington. The only chance of -saving her life was to bring her right away to the -doctor, so Mr. Chance saw to her removal, but the -doctor thinks badly of her. It's some injury to her -spine, and he must operate to-night." -</p> - -<p> -Jack had laid down his knife and fork, and was -listening with bated breath. -</p> - -<p> -"He's so clever, p'raps he'll conquer," he said. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Treherne turned with a little smile at the -quaint phrase. -</p> - -<p> -"Who told you Dr. Wilson was clever?" he asked. -</p> - -<p> -"Uncle Tom," said Jack flushing a little; the -talk which had led up to the remark he kept to -himself, but of the doctor's victory over pain he -felt fairly confident, although facts seemed against -him. After supper Betty ran down to Mrs. Kenyon's -to ask for the latest news, but Clarissa could only -tell her that her brother had looked in for a few -minutes to snatch a meal, but had gone again to -his patient who it was feared would not live -throughout the night. It was not until daylight that he -crept home to get a few hours' rest before his -Sunday work. Jessie had dropped asleep, and -seemed a little easier. Jack came as usual to walk -with him to church. -</p> - -<p> -"There must be no bell-ringing to-day, Jack," -said Uncle Tom. "There is Jessie Butler, the girl -I brought here yesterday, lying very ill just opposite -the church, and we must make no unnecessary noise." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh!" said Jack, drawing a deep breath of -disappointment. -</p> - -<p> -"I'm sure you would not wish to wake her out of -sleep, would you?" said Tom kindly, "but there is -something we can all do for her to-day which may -be of real help to her." -</p> - -<p> -"What," asked Jack eagerly. -</p> - -<p> -"Pray for her at the service. You listen with -all your ears, and you'll hear her name given, and the -prayers of the congregation will be asked for her and -you must say yours, Jack, say them with all your -heart." -</p> - -<p> -"But you said—you said Dr. Wilson was so -clever that he often conquered pain," said Jack a -little reproachfully. -</p> - -<p> -"With God's help, yes! We none of us can do -anything without it, and it's God's help we are going -to ask for." -</p> - -<p> -So Jack's service that morning was just one eager -waiting for the mention of Jessie Butler's name, -and when it came he folded his hands over his eyes -and just said, "Jessie Butler, Jessie Butler," over -and over again. No other words presented themselves -to his mind, but surely the name so earnestly -repeated reached the listening ear of the good God -to whom he appealed. -</p> - -<p> -The next few days were just a tussle between life -and death with Jessie Butler, but life conquered, -and on the fourth day the doctor was able to -pronounce her out of danger. Her recovery would be -slow and tedious, and she might have to remain -where she was for a great many weeks, but she was -going to live. Tom had confined his ministrations -to the township during the days of danger, so as -to be near when Jessie asked for him. He had -taken his share of watching by her bed every night -whilst the crisis lasted, and was as tender and handy -as any woman, Mrs. Mason told the doctor. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, he's a good sort," said the doctor. -</p> - -<p> -Jack's excitement and delight were great when -Tom told him that Jessie was going to get better. -</p> - -<p> -"Soon, will it be soon?" he said. -</p> - -<p> -"No, it will be a long time before she's quite well, -but she has taken the right turn." -</p> - -<p> -"Is the pain gone?" asked Jack in a half whisper, -remembering the white face and the little moan. -</p> - -<p> -"It's better but not conquered yet, but it will -get better every day. Would you like to come with -me the next time I go, and take her a bunch of -flowers?" -</p> - -<p> -Jack's head went down. "Not if she shuts her -eyes and makes a noise," he said. -</p> - -<p> -"But her eyes are very big and wide open, and -she'll smile at you and be so pleased to see you. I -want you and Eva to go sometimes to see her. It's -rather dull for her lying there all day long, although -soon she will be wheeled out into the verandah." -</p> - -<p> -Thus reassured Jack accepted Tom's suggestion. -Yet he experienced an inward tremor as he found -himself at the house-door which Tom opened and -entered without knocking, but he knocked at the -half-open door of the room just inside, and a girl's -voice bade him enter. -</p> - -<p> -"I've brought you a visitor, Jessie, a little boy who -has been very anxious you should get well." -</p> - -<p> -Jack laid his flowers on the bed. There was no -room for fear or distress in looking at the girl who -lay there with her pretty oval face framed in two -big braids of dark hair, and with great, big grey -eyes that smiled a welcome. -</p> - -<p> -"Are they for me?" she said, nodding at the -flowers. "I'd like 'em near, so as I could smell -them," so Jack shifted his nosegay nearer the pillow. -</p> - -<p> -"You must know his name, for he's coming again, -and going to bring a little chum of his with him, my -niece, Eva Kenyon. This is Jack Stephens, and -his titles are numerous. He's Jack the Englishman, -and Jack the Bell-ringer—he rings the bell in -church, don't you, Jack?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not last Sunday, because we didn't want to -make a noise as you were ill," said Jack gravely. -</p> - -<p> -"I'll hear it next Sunday, maybe," said Jessie. -"I wish I could come. It's months and months -since we've been to church. We live too far away -from one, and I've been ill a long time, too." -</p> - -<p> -"When you're well enough to be wheeled out into -the verandah, you'll hear the hymns on Sunday -night. We always prop the door open." -</p> - -<p> -"That'll seem like old times," said Jessie, with -quaint old-fashionedness. "I lived in the township -with Grannie until I was ten years old, went to -the State school every day and to Sunday school -over there"—with a nod at the church. "Then -Grannie died, and I went home to father and mother, -but I don't like it. It's so lonesome in the bush. -It's lovely to lie here and see the coach go by twice -a day and the horses and bullock drays and things." -</p> - -<p> -But Tom, watching the delicate face flush, thought -Jessie had talked enough, and kneeling down, said a -prayer or two, and standing, sang a hymn, and then -bade the girl good-bye. -</p> - -<p> -"Will you come again, and bring the little girl -you spoke of?" asked Jessie, as Jack laid a shy -hand in hers. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said Jack gravely. -</p> - -<p> -Once outside, he was full of talk about his visit. -</p> - -<p> -"I shall go every day; she liked it, didn't she?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, but you must not go too often yet, until -she's stronger. She still has a good deal of pain to -bear, though we hope it will grow less every day." -</p> - -<p> -"I thought Dr. Wilson had conquered it." -</p> - -<p> -"He's made it better, but only time can make -her well." -</p> - -<p> -"But she's smiling all the time." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, she's extraordinarily brave, as many girls -are." -</p> - -<p> -"Not so brave as boys," said Jack quickly. -</p> - -<p> -"Often a great deal braver in bearing pain." -</p> - -<p> -"I could take her some toys, p'raps," said Jack, -not caring for the turn the conversation had taken. -</p> - -<p> -"Books are more in her line; she's a great reader." -</p> - -<p> -"I s'pose you'd have to read if you could not run -about," Jack said. -</p> - -<p> -"But Jessie loves reading as much as playing -games, almost better,"—a statement so wonderful -that it reduced Jack to silence. -</p> - -<p> -"It was odd of you to take Jack to see that poor -sick child," said Tom's sister that evening. "He's -been telling Eva about it, and she's wild to go with -him, but I don't think I shall let her." -</p> - -<p> -"Why not?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I think children should be kept away from -the sight of painful things as long as possible." -</p> - -<p> -"But there is nothing painful to see in visiting -Jessie. She's a singularly pretty child, lying in bed -and nearly always smiling. Don't you think the -sooner children learn to think about other people -the better?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I don't know; let them be happy as long -as they can, poor mites. I don't believe in leagues -for making children kind. It only turns them into -self-conscious prigs." -</p> - -<p> -"I quite agree, but to teach children to minister -to others without being conscious of such ministry, -is surely only teaching them the lesson of -unselfishness. They should give out sympathy as a rose -gives out scent. Besides, I really think the child -will be lonely when I'm away. I've been staying -about here purposely, as long as she was in danger, -but next week I must be off again about my business. -Mrs. Mason gives her all the necessary looking after -she requires, but has no time for sitting with her or -diverting her thoughts, and it struck me that the -children looking in from time to time would be very -delightful for her and for them." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh well, Eva shall go with Jack sometimes, and -the fowls are laying pretty steadily now, so I shall -be able to send a few eggs occasionally." -</p> - -<p> -"I knew you would do what I asked; you always -do," Tom said, smiling at his sister. -</p> - -<p> -"But it's too delightful to have you here to ask -things." said Clarissa, bending down to kiss him. -</p> - -<p> -The pleasure the children's visits gave at the -cottage was mutual. On their side it was delightful -to plan little gifts by way of a surprise to Jessie, in -which they were aided and abetted by their home -people, but Jessie on her side proved a capital -companion, who could teach them quiet games, such as -"Beggar my neighbour," etc., or she would tell them -wonderful tales of the bush, of fires, or people who -were lost, tales that were true, that she had picked -up from one or another. -</p> - -<p> -But, greatly as Jessie looked forward to her little -visitors, the happiest hours of her week were still on -Saturday and Sunday, when her clergyman friend -came to see her, for he was making the most of the -time of Jessie's enforced inactivity to talk to her -and teach her about sacred things, and he found in -her one of the brightest and most intelligent pupils -he had ever had. She was fairly familiar with the -Bible stories, but as must necessarily be the case in -wide districts where one clergyman has to do the -work of four, her definite Church teaching was of -the slightest. -</p> - -<p> -And yet, that she had very strong groping in that -direction was discovered to Tom one Sunday when, -after some simple, direct teaching about her baptism, -she looked up into his face with a sudden smile, -and said: -</p> - -<p> -"Why can't I be confirmed? I was all ready once, -about six months ago. There was a confirmation -at Wylmington, and then I could not go, and I cried -myself sick with disappointment. I was ill, you -see. My back had begun to be troublesome. Can't -you confirm me?" -</p> - -<p> -Tom did not smile at the vague conception of -what confirmation meant, but answered the -hungry longing for more grace that the question -implied. -</p> - -<p> -"You've asked me something I'm unable to give -you, Jessie," he said gently. "The rite of Confirmation -is not mine to perform. It's the Bishop, the -chief shepherd of the flock, to whom belongs that -Laying on of Hands, which brings with it, we believe, -very special gifts of the Holy Spirit." -</p> - -<p> -Jessie hung her head and blushed a little. -</p> - -<p> -"I knew it was the Bishop who came to Wylmington, -but I did not know just what you were. You -seem quite different from most clergymen. I -thought, maybe, you could confirm people." -</p> - -<p> -"No, I'm just an ordinary every-day Parson, but -as you seem keen about it, we will have some talks, -and see how much you understand of its meaning. -Who prepared you before?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Mr. Marston, the clergyman who has gone -away ill, would stop after service on the Sundays; -he came up to Wylmington, and told us boys and -girls who wished to be confirmed to stay behind -whilst he talked to us about it. And he asked us to -get our Catechism perfect in between, and he said, -if we kept regular to the Sunday class, he would try -to see each one of us separately before the Bishop -came, but I could only go to one or two of the classes, -what with bad weather and being ill, but if I'd been -well enough to get there on the day, I believe he'd -have let me come, because I wanted it so much." -</p> - -<p> -"Be confirmed, you mean," said Tom. "Why -were you so eager?" -</p> - -<p> -"Because, because," stammered Jessie with -shining eyes, "it will help to make one good. You -promise to be good, and God helps you." -</p> - -<p> -It was not a very lucid way of explaining it, but -the spirit was willing if the learning was weak, and -Tom left her with a determination that, if possible, -the girl should have her heart's desire. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VII -<br /><br /> -A BISHOP'S VISIT -</h3> - -<p> -"Everything comes to an issue to him who knows -how to wait," said Tom Chance, folding up the -local newspaper with an air of deep satisfaction. -</p> - -<p> -He was sitting in the verandah at the farm, and -Betty busied herself with a pile of mending that lay -on the table before her. Tom often found his way -up to the farm on a Saturday evening when his work -was finished, for devoted as he and his sister were to -each other, in Betty he found a more understanding -sympathiser with his work. She looked up now -with a quick smile. -</p> - -<p> -"What have you been waiting for?" -</p> - -<p> -"Waiting to catch the Bishop, and I believe the -time has come when I may hope to hook him. -Anyway, I will write to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"Then he's likely to be in the neighbourhood?" -</p> - -<p> -"He's advertised in that paper as due at Rumney -in a fortnight's time to open their new little church." -</p> - -<p> -"Not really!" cried Betty, laying down her -work. "How perfectly delightful! Do you know -that church has taken twenty years in the building? at -least the first money for it was collected twenty -years ago, but it was not nearly enough to cover the -cost, so it was laid aside to wait for better days, and -it seemed as if the better days were never coming. -Now one energetic farmer has taken it up, and pushed -it through by hook or crook, but I did not know it -was so near completion. I must get over to the -opening." -</p> - -<p> -"It is to be a very gala day by the newspaper -account, and I think you might take me with you, -and we'll get hold of the Bishop and bring him -back with us. Can you manage it, do you -think?" -</p> - -<p> -"What makes you want him so much?" -</p> - -<p> -"I'll tell you if you care to hear." -</p> - -<p> -Betty nodded, and there, in the glory of the setting -sun which was flooding the western sky with every -hue of the rainbow, she sat and listened to Jessie's -story, her eyes filling with tears. -</p> - -<p> -"But how lovely," she said, when he finished. -"So you've planned that the Bishop shall come -here on purpose to confirm her?" -</p> - -<p> -"If he will and can; I've never had a keener -candidate. Since that first talk with her I've been -giving her a regular course of preparation for -confirmation, not holding out any hope that it might -be here and now, in case no opportunity presented -itself, but just to have her ready in case one might -be given me." -</p> - -<p> -"Shall you tell her about it?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not till I get the Bishop's answer. The -disappointment would be too bitter if it came a second -time." -</p> - -<p> -But the Bishop's answer was kind and favourable. -He had just four hours to spare, and provided he -could be fetched and taken back to the nearest -railway station when the service was over, he would be -delighted to come. -</p> - -<p> -The children happened to call immediately after -Tom had brought Jessie the wonderful news, and -found her simply radiant with joy. -</p> - -<p> -"The Bishop's coming on purpose to confirm -me. Isn't it good of him and of Mr. Chance to have -settled it? I'm so happy, I don't know how to lie -still. I'd like to be up and jumping for joy." -</p> - -<p> -But Jack stood looking at her with wondering eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"I don't understand," he said. "What makes -you so happy?" -</p> - -<p> -"That I'm going to be confirmed," said Jessie -simply. "I've wished it ever so much, and thought -I might wait for years." -</p> - -<p> -"What's being confirmed?" -</p> - -<p> -Jessie flushed a little. "Being strengthened by -God's Holy Spirit. It's only the Bishop who can -confirm you, you know." -</p> - -<p> -Jack asked no more; here was something quite -beyond his understanding. Perhaps Uncle Tom -could make it clearer if he could talk to him about -it when they were quite alone. -</p> - -<p> -He approached the subject cautiously on the -following morning as he trotted down to church by -Tom's side. -</p> - -<p> -"Is a Bishop a sort of head doctor?" he asked. -</p> - -<p> -Tom gave an inward chuckle, but kept outwardly -grave. -</p> - -<p> -"That's not exactly how I should describe him; -he is the head of the clergy in any diocese where he -may be placed, a diocese means a certain division of -the church which is given into his keeping, and the -clergy have to look up to him as their head. What -made you think he was a head doctor?" -</p> - -<p> -"I didn't understand, but Jessie said he would -lay his hands upon her and make her strong." -</p> - -<p> -They had reached the church door, and Tom -unlocked it and passed in before he answered. Then, -in the simplest language he could command, he drew -Jack to his side and gave him his first lesson on -the sacraments, the outward signs which—God -appointed—convey the inward grace. He talked -to him of baptism, pointing to the tiny font, -as he spoke, where the water poured on the baby's -face, accompanied with the clergyman's prayer, -was the sign of the Holy Spirit descending upon the -little child; how, after confirmation, that child would -be dedicated to God to be His faithful soldier and -servant until his life's end. -</p> - -<p> -"And when you are a big boy, Jack, you will, I -hope, do what Jessie is so anxious to do now, you -will stand before the Bishop——" -</p> - -<p> -"Will Jessie stand. Will she be strong enough?" -broke in Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"No, God will know she can't stand, but she will -lie with folded hands and make her promise to go -on serving God all her life and to fight against the -devil and all his works, and then the Bishop will lay -his hands upon her head and pray that the Holy -Spirit may come upon her and make her strong -enough by His gifts to keep this promise. It is that -strength, we believe the laying on of hands conveys." -</p> - -<p> -"Then it won't make Jessie walk?" said Jack -dejectedly. -</p> - -<p> -"Dear boy, it will make her walk straight on the -road towards God, and that is the first thing, the -most important thing in all the world, to get nearer -to God. But if ever she is able to walk again it will -be God that gives her the power. And now it is -time you began to ring the bell." -</p> - -<p> -But Jack had some more questions to ask. -</p> - -<p> -"Shall I see Jessie confirmed, see the Bishop lay -his hands on her head?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why, surely, if you wish it, and join your prayer -with his. 'Pray God give Jessie Thy Holy Spirit.'" -</p> - -<p> -"And when will I be big enough?" -</p> - -<p> -"To be confirmed, do you mean? It's not so -much a question of years, or size, as of understanding, -Jack; understanding what you are doing. Jessie -quite understands." -</p> - -<p> -"You said when I was big. I want to be big -most of all to go to father. He will fetch me when -I'm big enough." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, perhaps it might be before father fetches -you, in this very church. Who knows? But no -one can settle that now." -</p> - -<p> -Jack did not speak of his talk with Uncle Tom -even to Aunt Betty, but it sank deep in his heart, -taking its place side by side with the great event -that he looked forward to in future years, when -"he was big," when father would come to fetch him; -and before that, Uncle Tom had suggested that he -might be confirmed as Jessie was going to be -confirmed. He could not have put the notion into -words yet, but the seed which was planted in his -heart that Sunday sprouted lustily. Meanwhile, the -day of the opening of Rumney Church and of Jessie's -confirmation drew near. Happily the day proved -fine, one of those wonderfully brilliant Tasmanian -days that almost beggars description. Tom presented -himself in good time at the farm, and failing to find -anyone in the house, passed round to the stables at -the back, where he found Betty putting Tim, the -handsome mettlesome pony, into the shafts of the cart. -</p> - -<p> -"But let me," said Tom, springing to her assistance. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you, no," said Betty with a laugh. "Tim -resents strangers and gets possessed of an evil spirit -if anyone handles him but a known and trusted -friend. I always have to harness him when I go -anywhere. Gently, Tim, gently," as Tim's head -went up with a snort as Tom drew near. "I hope -you don't mind trusting yourself to me. There's -no room for father if we bring the Bishop back. It's -a lovely drive, but very rough for the last two miles -through a bush road. To go round makes five miles -difference." -</p> - -<p> -"If I minded unmade roads or untrained horses -I should hardly be fitted for my work as a Bush -parson," said Tom with a gay laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"Very well, get in then, and we'll be off." -</p> - -<p> -The descent through the paddock was made -chiefly on the pony's back legs, but once on the open -road he settled to his paces and conversation was -possible. The going was rapid, for uphill or down—and -in that part of the world it is always one or the -other—seemed to make no difference to Tim. -</p> - -<p> -"'My steed on his journey was gay, As I on my -journey to Heaven'" quoted Tom, "a little -break-neck, perhaps, for the bush road you promise me -for the last part of the way." -</p> - -<p> -"Which shows how little you know of Tim; you -will see how soberly and sure-footedly he will pick -his way. I believe you are nervous, notwithstanding -your boast when you started!" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, I will promise not to have hysterics or -clutch at the reins," said Tom, jumping down to -open the gate which barred the bush road from the -highway. And here it meant careful going, for -bullock drays had been lately along carting away -some freshly hewn timber, and in many places the -cart sank into the ruts almost up to the axles. Tom -got out and walked to lighten the weight on the -pony's back. It was really pretty to see the dainty -way the creature put down its feet, avoiding bigger -stones and curvetting past the huge logs that -often-times blocked the road, making a diversion into the -fern-clothed sides necessary. -</p> - -<p> -"But it's hardly a safe way for even as good a -driver as Betty," he thought, and almost before the -thought framed itself, Tim was rearing and backing, -and then, with a swift swerve, would have smashed -himself, Betty, and the cart, against the enormous -bole of a tree, but for Tom's hasty dash to his head. -For a moment the issue seemed doubtful, but Tom's -strong hand and soothing voice brought him into -subjection, and he stood trembling from head to foot. -</p> - -<p> -"And what was all the fuss about?" said Tom, -patting Tim's head with as much confidence as if -they were friends of long standing. "Let's have a -look, old man, and see if we can't get over the -difficulty," and round the curve which Tim had just -come, Tom saw the half length of a tree which had -been lately felled from which a long piece of bark -had been stripped and the dazzling flicker of -sunshine across it had startled Tim and terrified him. -</p> - -<p> -But realizing now what it was, the difficulty was -at an end, and Tim passed by without further -resistance. -</p> - -<p> -"It's smoother now; you can get in if you like," -said Betty, a little crossly, and Tom mounted to her -side. -</p> - -<p> -"It's a nasty fall to my pride," she said after a -moment. "We should have been smashed up into -matchwood but for you, and hitherto I'm the only -one in the family with whom Tim has never -misbehaved himself." -</p> - -<p> -"But it puts me on equal terms with you again, -and soothes my wounded vanity. You can't -forget that on the first occasion we met you caught -me out at cricket," Tom answered, good-humouredly. -</p> - -<p> -"But I am doubly in the wrong, for I told you -Tim would not let you touch him, and he was as a -lamb in your hands," went on Betty, still put -out. -</p> - -<p> -"But that is something I was born with: that is -no credit to me. I love all animals, and I think they -know it." -</p> - -<p> -They were through the bush now and trotting -gaily along the road to Rumney, passing groups of -people from the various farms, all bent in the same -direction. -</p> - -<p> -"Everyone comes," said Betty, "on an occasion -of this kind. Roman Catholics and every -denomination that calls itself Christian." -</p> - -<p> -"That seems to me rather beautiful. Ah! there -is the Bishop waiting by the foot of the hill with -quite a cluster of people about him." -</p> - -<p> -"I'll let you down with your bag and drive on to -the inn, and put up Tim," said Betty, and Tom -tactfully made no offer to do it for her. -</p> - -<p> -Very soon she was wending her way, with many -others, to the new little church built on the side of -a hill just beyond the township in a clearing in the -bush. There was no fence round it, no properly-made -path to lead up to it, but there was a nameless -charm in the primitive simplicity of it all, and Betty -went in and thanked God that at last the church, so -long in hand, was completed. -</p> - -<p> -There was a pretty little altar with a wooden -cross and vases of fresh flowers on either side of it, a -prayer desk, which at present had to serve as lectern -desk, and pulpit, and a very simple font, but benches -had had to be borrowed from the school-house hard -by. It was hoped that the offerings of the day -might help to provide some new ones. But Betty's -attention was arrested by the sound of singing, and -glancing through the open door of the porch, she -saw a little procession of clergy winding its way up -the hill towards the church, the Bishop bringing up -the rear. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "The Church's one foundation<br /> - Is Jesus Christ her Lord——"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -so the words rang—at first only sung by the clergy, -but as they neared the door the congregation rose as -one man to their feet, and the well-known hymn was -taken up lustily until the little building was filled -with the volume of sound. -</p> - -<p> -To Betty, all unused to church functions, it seemed -the most beautiful service she had ever attended, -the touching words of consecration, the collects that -followed when the Bishop, kneeling in the middle of -the step that led up into the tiny sanctuary, prayed -God to let His blessing rest upon this house and upon -the people that should worship therein, and last of -all the Bishop's address, quite short and simple, so -that everyone present could fully understand, and -yet so forcible in its simplicity, so impressive on the -importance of this dedication day, which he begged -them to observe as a <i>holiday</i> from that time forward, -a day of joyous thanksgiving that God had allowed -them, as to Solomon, to build Him a house. -And then the Bishop raised his hands in supplication. -</p> - -<p> -"Prosper Thou the work of their hands upon -them, O Lord; O prosper Thou their handiwork." -</p> - -<p> -The Blessing and a recessional hymn closed the -short and simple service, and then, whilst the -congregation trooped off to the paddocks where sports -were to finish the day's holiday, the Bishop, after a -hasty lunch provided at the farmer's house near by, -announced himself ready to accompany Betty and -Tom Chance. -</p> - -<p> -An hour later the cart drew up at the door of the -cottage opposite the church, and the Bishop stood -for a moment bareheaded on the threshold. -</p> - -<p> -"Peace be to this house," he said in his kindly -tones, then stooped to pat the head of the little boy -in a white suit who stood with his cap in his hand -earnestly looking up into his face. -</p> - -<p> -"Jessie's little brother?" he suggested. -</p> - -<p> -"No, my little nephew," smiled Betty, "but he -was very anxious to see Jessie confirmed." -</p> - -<p> -"And it's always well to have a congregation," -answered the Bishop, and then he passed into the -room where Jessie lay, a pretty picture in her soft -tulle cap and white muslin jacket which Betty had -provided for her confirmation day. A flush was on -her cheeks, and her eyes glowed like stars as the -Bishop bent over her and took her hand, speaking -a few kind encouraging words. And then his eye -glanced round the crowded room, for Jessie's parents -had driven over for the day, and a neighbour or two -had expressed the wish to be present. -</p> - -<p> -"It seems rather close and crowded, doesn't it?" -said the Bishop, turning to Tom who stood by the -open doorway, "and there is plenty of room over -there," with a nod at the little church opposite. -"I think we could carry her, bed and all, over there, -don't you? Will you see to it, whilst I adjourn to -the vestry and put on my robes?" -</p> - -<p> -"But of course I could nearly carry her alone," -said Tom, so between him and her father, Jessie -was gently moved over the road through the porch, -and into the church beyond, whilst Jack to make the -thing complete, climbed on to his usual hassock and -rang the bell until the Bishop, preceded by Uncle -Tom, issued from the vestry, and then he slipped -quietly into a seat where he could watch the whole -service from beginning to end. It was just as -Uncle Tom had pictured it; Jessie lay there with -folded hands and a radiant face making her promise -with a clear confident voice, and then the Bishop -drew near and laid his hands upon her head, and -Jack watched with awe-struck eyes, and wondered -if the wind that came rushing down from the hills at -that moment and went whistling by the church was -the outward sign of the Holy Spirit descending upon -Jessie and making her strong. She was not strong -at present for she was crying! -</p> - -<p> -And then the Bishop still stood by her looking -down on her with a tender smile, and talked of how -once our Lord had called a child to Him, and how -he was sure His call had come to her to-day, a call -to which she was very ready to listen, and he -believed she would follow Him to her life's end. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I'll try," said Jessie, smiling through her -tears. -</p> - -<p> -There was quite a long pause at the end of the -service, when the tiny congregation remained -kneeling, praying for the child who had so earnestly -renewed her baptismal promises. -</p> - -<p> -"Don't carry me back home yet. I want to see -the Bishop, and to thank him for coming," whispered -Jessie, and the Bishop, bag in hand, came down the -church and took her hand in his. -</p> - -<p> -"Mr. Bishop, if I live to be quite an old woman, -I won't forget your coming here to-day," she said. -</p> - -<p> -"It's been a happy day for us both, Jessie," was -the kind answer. "God have you in His keeping -now and evermore," and with that final blessing the -Bishop hurried off to his train. After putting him -into the cart, Tom and her father returned to carry -Jessie back. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I'm ready to go now," she said. "I'm -very tired, but it has been the happiest day of my -life, the grandest, happiest day!" -</p> - -<p> -"And when I'm big I'll be confirmed like Jessie," -thought Jack, as he sped home, "but I hope I'll -stand on my feet, not lie on a bed as she did." -</p> - -<p> -"It was the loveliest confirmation I have ever -been at," said Tom to his sister that night. "I -wish you had come to it, Clarissa." -</p> - -<p> -"I was too shy," his sister answered. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VIII -<br /><br /> -TWO LEAVE-TAKINGS -</h3> - -<p> -It seemed quite natural to Jack that Jessie's strength -improved marvellously from the day of her -confirmation, for although Tom had tried to teach -him something of the outward sign which denotes -the spiritual grace, his childish mind recurred to -his first idea, and he did not for a moment question -that Jessie's quickened recovery was chiefly due to -the Bishop's laying on of hands. -</p> - -<p> -"You said the Bishop's hands would make her -strong, didn't you?" he remarked one day to Tom, -and Tom smiled down on him. -</p> - -<p> -"I was talking of her soul rather than her body, -Jack, but it seems as if God in His goodness were -sending her both together." -</p> - -<p> -So it was that from sitting up in a chair for a -considerable portion of the day, Jessie soon began -to walk a little, first to the garden gate, then a few -steps along the road, and one summer evening in -the autumn, to Jack's great excitement and delight, -he saw her seated in a chair at the bottom of the -church when he went down as usual to ring the bell. -What did not please him so well was that his -wandering thoughts in the service were brought back -to everyday life by the mention of her name in -church, in what connection he was too greatly -astonished to discover. He was only certain that -he had heard her name, and what could be the good -of saying prayers for her when she was sitting -behind all the time and looking nearly well? His -puzzledom, it almost might be called annoyance, -at the unreasonableness of the thing kept his mind -straying for the remainder of the service, and he -was glad that under cover of waiting behind to -carry something back for Uncle Tom after church, -he had a chance of putting the matter before him. -</p> - -<p> -"Uncle Tom, we didn't want to pray for Jessie -Butler, to-night. What did you do it for? Did -not you see, she was in church and quite better?" -he said. -</p> - -<p> -"Which shows you weren't listening very much, -Jack, or you would have found out we weren't -praying for her in the way of asking God to give -her anything. We were thanking Him for making -her better, and, of course, it was much better to -wait until she could be there to give thanks for -herself. It would have very little meaning else. Now, -I will tell you a story," and very picturesquely -Tom related the story of the ten lepers. -</p> - -<p> -"Only one out of the whole lot, Jack, who -remembered to give thanks to God. A lot of us -are like that! We say 'Give us this day our daily -bread,' and at the end of the day we forget to thank -God for the food we never lack." -</p> - -<p> -Jack said little, but the lesson went home. -</p> - -<p> -Jessie's lessons with her clergyman still continued -for many weeks after her confirmation, for Tom -was preparing her for her first Communion, and the -next time he was able to hold a celebration at the -little church, Jessie was one of the communicants. -Jack's interest over that was far less keen than about -her confirmation. It was "something grown-up -people stayed for, and children could not," was all -that he grasped at present, and Tom left it at that, -willing that the teaching about the greatest -Sacrament should be given a little later. Very quickly -after Jessie's first Communion there came the -letter suggesting that it was time for her to go home. -She was quite independent now of the doctor's -attendance. She showed the letter to Tom when -he came to see her, making no comment. -</p> - -<p> -"You'll be glad to go back and see them all -again, I expect," but Jessie lifted her great eyes -to him quite full of tears. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—no—" she said. "Of course, I want to -see them, but although I've been ill down here, and -had a lot of pain, I've had the happiest time of -my life. You've taught me a lot, and I've been -confirmed and been to Communion, and when I -go back I'll see no one p'raps for weeks and weeks. -It seems so easy to be good when you are here, but -when no one talks to you, and Sunday after Sunday -you never get nigh a church, and you work and -work and always feel tired it doesn't come so easy." -</p> - -<p> -"But you won't work for a bit yet, Jessie; you're -not fit for it." -</p> - -<p> -"It's easier to work than to sit still all day and -do nothing, and see mother bustling round with -never a minute to herself. Here there is no work I -ought to be doing, you see." -</p> - -<p> -Tom sat pondering. "Well, for the present you -must try and make yourself content. I quite see -that your father and mother, hard-working people, -can't afford to keep you here any longer than is -necessary——" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I was selfish. I'd forgotten that," said -Jessie. -</p> - -<p> -"And I want you to think of this, Jessie; that -God who has given you so much help lately will -still be near you, and able to keep you in the straight -path when He takes some of those helps away. I -know it's much more difficult for you, but it may -help to strengthen your spiritual life, to teach -you to stand alone. You'll say your prayers and -keep your Bible reading regular." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," Jessie said, "but it's not easy when -there's no one who can tell you what it means when -you get puzzled." -</p> - -<p> -"I can't quite tell where I shall go when my -time here comes to an end, but I will try and see -you sometimes." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, thank you, ever so much! That will make -everything different; for when I sit sewing in the -verandah—I'll do all the sewing—I shall feel that -one time I shall look up and see you come riding -through the bush, and p'raps—p'raps, if you've -nowhere else to go, you'll stop the night. Mother -would be pleased." -</p> - -<p> -"There are many more improbable things than -that," Tom said. -</p> - -<p> -The children were loud in their lamentations over -Jessie's leaving. -</p> - -<p> -"Why can't you stop forever and ever?" Eva -demanded. -</p> - -<p> -"Because I've got a mother and father who -want me back again." -</p> - -<p> -"It's miles and miles away; we can't come and -see you, can we?" said Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I don't know. We're three miles back from -Wylmington Falls, where people come picnicing -in summer time. If you came out there one day -you might get on to us." -</p> - -<p> -It did not sound very probable. -</p> - -<p> -"When are you going?" he asked rather drearily. -</p> - -<p> -"The day after to-morrow; they're sending the -buggy to fetch me." -</p> - -<p> -"We'll come to the corner at the bottom of the -lane to see you and wave to you, won't we, Eva?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, wave to you," echoed Eva, beginning to -smile again, the prospect of active service consoling -her for Jessie's departure. -</p> - -<p> -So on the following Saturday two eager children, -with flowers in one hand and handkerchiefs in the -other, stood waiting at their corner. This time the -waiting was a short one, for a buggy came slowly up -the hill, and in front, supported by cushions, sat -Jessie by her father's side, whilst her small belongings -were packed in behind; and at sight of the waiting -pair, Mr. Butler drew rein and Eva climbed up -with Jack's assistance to give Jessie a parting kiss, -and Jack lifted his cap and presented his flowers, -holding himself very straight lest Jessie should offer -to kiss him too; but she knew better, only shook him -heartily by the hand, and thanked him for all his -kindness and then the buggy moved on, followed by -the shouts of the children. -</p> - -<p> -"But I wish she hadn't gone," said Jack as the -carriage and its occupants were lost to sight. "We'll -miss her every day." -</p> - -<p> -Tom came up to the farm that evening for he had -something to discuss, and wanted Betty's counsel. -</p> - -<p> -"You know what girls can do more than I," he -said when he had settled down to his pipe in the -verandah. "I've Jessie Butler on my mind. My -time here now is short——" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I didn't know you were leaving at any -definite time," said Betty quickly. -</p> - -<p> -"Nor did I until to-day, but I've a letter from -the Bishop to say that your late vicar has resigned, -and that he is going to put in a younger man who -can compass the work better." -</p> - -<p> -"Why not you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Because I refused to take it," said Tom simply. -"It's not what I came out for, although I've had a -very happy time here." -</p> - -<p> -"And the new man is coming soon?" -</p> - -<p> -"As soon as the Bishop can find him. He has -one or two that he would like to send here, but I'm -wandering from my point. Before I leave, I should -like to find something for Jessie to do. She's utterly -unfitted for life on a back block. It's too rough for -her, and the work too heavy. She can't do anything -yet, but before the winter sets in I'd like to see her -settled at work she can do, something fairly quiet -and regular. What do delicate girls do? What -are they fit for," and Tom glanced appealingly at -Betty. -</p> - -<p> -"Sewing would be too sedentary, and she would -not get it either, living where she does," said Betty. -</p> - -<p> -"That's just it; I want to move her from where -she is, but she's not strong enough for service." -</p> - -<p> -"She might help in an infant school where such -help is needed. She has read a good deal and passed -all her standards, and has picked up a good deal of -desultory knowledge which, from what the children -tell me of the way she talks to them, I should think -she had a gift for imparting." -</p> - -<p> -"The very thing," cried Tom, "and I believe -there is an opening at Wylmington, which has the -advantage of not being far from home in case of a -breakdown. I was in the little school there the -other day, and the teacher, Miss Armstrong, was -saying that it was imperative that she must have -help with the tinies, and that she had written to -the department about it. Now, if I could only put -an oar in and get the post for Jessie, she could spend -her spare time in study, and in qualifying herself -to pass the examinations necessary for her to become -a certificated teacher. In years to come she might -get quite strong enough to undertake the care of -some country school." -</p> - -<p> -Tom lost no time in getting into touch with the -authorities, with the result that in a few weeks' time -he had the offer of the post which he sought for Jessie. -</p> - -<p> -Jessie's imaginings about the parson's first visit -to her home only came partly true, for on one -soaking wet afternoon as the light was beginning -to wane, a dripping man, clad in waterproof from -top to toe, came riding up to the door, and she could -hardly believe her eyes when the rider turned out to -be Tom. Her greeting was absolutely incoherent -in its gladness. -</p> - -<p> -"Mother, father," she cried flying to the door, -"come, come quickly. Here's Mr. Chance, come to -see us, and he must be soaking to the skin." -</p> - -<p> -"Not a bit of it," said Tom, dismounting cheerily -from his horse and shaking the rain from the brim -of his hat, "thanks to my overalls. I have a -proposal to make to your father and mother, the answer -to which is urgent, and I could not wait for fine -weather." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, everything must wait until you are fed, -and warmed, and dried," said hospitable Mrs. Butler, -hastening forward, "Fred," to a tall boy behind—"Come, -take the horse, will you? Come in, come in, -Mr. Chance; it was good of you to ride through the -bush on a day like this, for when it rains it means -business in our country." -</p> - -<p> -Ten minutes later Tom sat in the living-room -before a log fire cracking cheerily in the open fireplace, -which sent a leaping shower of flame and sparks -up the chimney. The family, of varying sex and -sizes, having accorded the visitor shy greeting, -dispersed, leaving the space clear for Mrs. Butler -and Jessie, who bustled round preparing a meal -of the best viands the house could produce at so short -a notice. -</p> - -<p> -After the rough but hospitable meal, Tom resumed -his seat near the fire and laid his proposal -before them, that Jessie should become temporary -assistant teacher in the little school at Wylmington, -with the view of following teaching as her profession. -Miss Armstrong had expressed her willingness to -give her a helping hand with her studies, and Jessie -could live at the school-house with her. Indeed, -Miss Armstrong would be glad to welcome her -there, as the life was too lonely a one for any girl -to face. -</p> - -<p> -Jessie listened to the plan as it unfolded itself -with occasional exclamations of delight, but her -father demurred. -</p> - -<p> -"The lass isn't strong. I'd rather have her here -under our own eyes for a bit." -</p> - -<p> -"But it's the future we must look to, Harry. It's -putting Jessie in the way of earning her own living. -If anything ails her she's not far from home," said -the more sensible mother. "I believe we must let -her go." -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you," said Tom, as if he were accepting -a favour, rather than conferring one. "I wanted -to feel Jessie had found her proper niche before I -said good-bye." -</p> - -<p> -Jessie's heart sank like lead, all the joy at the -thought of the life of useful work which opened out -before her dashed by the near prospect of losing -the friend who had so greatly helped her, but she -said nothing. Her regret was too deep for words. -She simply turned imploring eyes upon the speaker -as if making dumb appeal to him to reverse his -decision. -</p> - -<p> -"It seems a pity you should leave us," said the -farmer with slow deliberation. "I don't profess -to know much about parsons and their work, but -it strikes me you are the right man in the right place." -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you," said Tom, with a little laugh, -"but I never came to stop. I came to fill a gap; -I am leaving for the mainland almost directly." -</p> - -<p> -"Never coming back?" said Jessie, with a choke -in her voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Never is a big word, Jessie. I hope certainly -to revisit Tasmania before I go back to England, -but it may be a long time first. I did not come -to the colony with a notion of finally settling here." -</p> - -<p> -Then he gave them a short sketch of the work -he had been sent out to do. -</p> - -<p> -"Humph!" said the farmer, "very good as far -as it goes, but it seems to me a bit like lighting a -fire and setting it in a blaze and then leaving it to -die down to a heap of ashes." -</p> - -<p> -"But we hope it may lead to an extension of the -church's work." -</p> - -<p> -"May be," said Butler, but his tone was incredulous. -</p> - -<p> -Then Tom rose and said he must be getting on his -way. -</p> - -<p> -"You'd have some difficulty in finding it on a -night like this," said the farmer with a chuckle. -"Listen to it," and across the swirl of the rain upon -the roof and windows came the roar of the wind -through the bush. "Best stay here for the night. -We can offer you a shake down in here, can't we, -wife? And a sound roof to cover you." -</p> - -<p> -Tom rose and went to the door before making a -final decision, but the wild rush of wind and rain -in his face made him close it again pretty quickly. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you; I'll stay, although I'm afraid I'm -causing you some inconvenience, but it would take -a more experienced bushman than I to find my -way on a night like this." -</p> - -<p> -"Seems to me," said Mrs. Butler a little shyly, -"that having the parson here, we might have prayers -to-night, before we settle in. It's not Sunday, but -it's many a Sunday we have to do without 'em." -</p> - -<p> -"Call the others in, then," said Butler, not -altogether pleased by the innovation, so in trooped -the boys and girls wide-eyed and smiling at the -novelty of prayers in the middle of the week. -</p> - -<p> -But they all felt there was something in it when -Tom began. His manly earnestness was infectious -and it was quite like church prayers after all, for he -read a Psalm and then a few verses from the Bible, -following on with familiar collects. -</p> - -<p> -"Lighten our darkness, O Lord, and by Thy -great mercy defend us from the perils and dangers -of the night," he said, and the thunderous crash -of a tree falling not far from the house reminded -his listeners that the perils of the night were close -about them—even at their doors. -</p> - -<p> -"I should like us to sing a hymn together," -said Tom as he rose from his knees, "something we -all know. Shall it be 'Abide with me?'" and he -started it in a strong clear voice and very soon the -whole family joined in, not absolutely correctly -perhaps, in time or tune, but with heartiness that -made it effective. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you," said Butler at the end. "Some -folks say that extempore prayers come more from -the heart, but for my part I like those I've been used -to from a boy." -</p> - -<p> -Then the family slipped off to bed, and the sofa -was pushed nearer the fire and a few rugs brought -in and soon Tom was settled in for the night. With -the first streak of dawn he was awake and pushed his -way into the outer kitchen in search of soap and -water, but there he found some one had been before -him, and everything had been arranged for his -comfort; and later Jessie appeared, carrying him his -breakfast on a neat tray. -</p> - -<p> -"It's kind of you to enable me to make an early -start, and the weather is kind too. What a lovely -morning after that wild night," but Jessie's heart -was too full of other things to think of the weather. -</p> - -<p> -"Mr. Chance, how will I keep good when you're gone?" -</p> - -<p> -"No one keeps you good," said Tom, "except -God's Holy Spirit, which is yours already and who -will abide with you for the asking. And for the -rest, Jessie, do your work lovingly and carefully, -as in God's sight, and on Sunday you can give a -helping hand in the school and teach the little ones -about holy things. You can help along the church's -work in the place if you have a mind to." -</p> - -<p> -Then Mrs. Butler came in, and a quarter of an -hour later Tom was wending his way back to -Wylmington. -</p> - -<p> -The following Sunday was his last in Wallaroo, -and the little church was packed to hear his last -sermon, and quite a number of people waited outside -the church to shake him by the hand and bid him -Godspeed, a send-off he much preferred to the social -evening which it had been proposed to give him -in the previous week, but which his many engagements -had forced him to decline. -</p> - -<p> -"Uncle Tom," said Jack, thrusting his hand into -Tom's as they walked home together, "you will -come back, won't you, as everyone's so sorry you're -going away?" -</p> - -<p> -"I don't suppose I shall come back as your -clergyman, Jack, but I shall certainly come back -before I go to England, in fact whenever a chance -presents itself." -</p> - -<p> -"But Eva and I won't watch for you on Saturday -afternoons?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, I'm afraid you won't, but some day, when -you least expect me, I shall come popping in by -the coach, or on my feet." -</p> - -<p> -"And you'll come when I'm confirmed same as -Jessie?" said Jack. -</p> - -<p> -Tom smiled to himself, well pleased that Jessie's -confirmation had made so deep an impression -upon the little boy. -</p> - -<p> -"I don't know even if I shall be in the colony -then, but if I'm anywhere within reach I'll come -when you are confirmed," said Tom. -</p> - -<p> -"Aunt Betty," said Jack, as Betty tucked him -into bed that night, "you need not cry any more, -Uncle Tom will come back some day." -</p> - -<p> -"But what nonsense you are talking. I'm not -crying," was the reply. -</p> - -<p> -"But you <i>did</i> cry in church, and I s'pose it's -because Uncle Tom is going away. If not, what -<i>did</i> you cry for?" said Jack, a question Aunt -Betty did not think fit to answer. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IX -<br /><br /> -A SURPRISE VISIT -</h3> - -<p> -Four years had passed since Tom Chance had left -Tasmania, and it was with a pleasurable quickening -of pulse that he found himself back in the island -and walking along the hilly road from the station -towards Wallaroo. He had told no one he was -coming, for he had planned once or twice before to -pay a flying visit which pressure of work had made -him obliged to defer, so this time he had determined -to take his friends by surprise. His years of absence -had been full of strenuous work, and he had travelled -through many parts of the huge continent, up the -Murray River, to New South Wales and Queensland, -and wherever he had gone his strong personality -and convincing earnestness had left behind a certain -quickening of church life which in many cases -proved permanent. And now he was conscious -of brain fag, of a need for a holiday, and had made -up his mind quite suddenly to take one, and it was -natural that he should spend it with his sister and -in revisiting some of his Tasmanian friends. The -coach had not met the train by which he arrived, -and he had left his baggage at the station and -was walking the eight miles which separated the -railway from Wallaroo. -</p> - -<p> -And he commended himself for his decision as he -strode leisurely along the zig-zag road which at every -turn disclosed a wider and more beautiful view, and -to his eyes, tired with the arid wastes through -which he had lately travelled, the blue atmosphere -and exquisite colouring of the island seemed little -short of Paradise. -</p> - -<p> -Indeed, in all his travels, Tasmania was the spot -which had wound itself most closely round his heart. -And from the land his mind passed on to the faces -he was so soon to see again, Clarissa's joyous welcome, -and that of his friends at the farm. Children's -memories were short; he could scarcely hope that -Eva would remember him, and of Jack he had heard -not long since that he had developed from the -delightful innocence and frankness of childhood, -into a somewhat bumptious schoolboy, at least -such was his sister's report. -</p> - -<p> -"And Betty seems rather harassed with the care -of him," she had said in her last letter. "She said -the other day that she so wished he could have -remained under your influence as he needs a man's -hand, and his father is anxious that the boy should -remain under her care until he is fourteen years -old, when a sister of his will be returning for good -from India and promises him a home." -</p> - -<p> -It was this report that had made Tom decide to -sail for Tasmania at once. If he could be of service -to Betty in the absence of little Jack's father, he -might turn his holiday to good account. Jack had -been sent to the State school some six months ago, -and the society of boys older than himself had -probably gone to his head like wine, and made him -lose his balance, in which case a little judicious -snubbing might have good effect. -</p> - -<p> -So thought Tom Chance as he breasted the last -steep incline from the top of which he would catch -his first glimpse of the township. Another mile -and he would be at home, and very much at home -he felt, as he walked through the straggling street, -exchanging greetings with one and another who -remembered him. Then came the turn into the -familiar green lane, where so often two little friends -had waited for him on a Saturday afternoon; but -to-day no one was in sight, but just as he reached -the gate of his sister's house a child with a bright -face and a long plait of dark hair down her back, -came running down the path whom Tom found it -difficult to recognise as the curly-headed dumpling -of five that he had left behind him. But no such -great difference had the four years worked upon -Tom himself, and Eva stood still for a moment, -regarding him with startled wonder in her eyes; -then as full recognition dawned upon her she came -flying towards him with open arms. -</p> - -<p> -"Mother, mother," she called back over her -shoulder. "Here's Uncle Tom come to see us," -and the next instant Eva's arms were round her -uncle's neck. -</p> - -<p> -And Clarissa, a younger, rosier, happier Clarissa, -came hurrying up behind. -</p> - -<p> -"But Tom, how naughty of you not to let us -know you were coming," she said when the first -greetings were over, "not to have given me the -joy of anticipation and of preparation. Now you -will have to take just what you can get. I've -improved your prophet's chamber though, since you -lived in it. I've added a little writing-table and -an easy chair. Life has taken a different colour -altogether since last you came." -</p> - -<p> -And so she chatted on as she hurried on her -preparations for tea, giving her brother no time -for explanations. -</p> - -<p> -"I hope you've come to stop a long, long time," -she said at last. -</p> - -<p> -"I've come to spend my holiday with you. -I've not had one since I came to the colony, and -suddenly felt in need of it." -</p> - -<p> -"And that's six weeks and sometimes seven in -the summer time," said Eva clapping her hands. -</p> - -<p> -"I was quite flattered that you remembered me, -Eva; you were such a tiny mite when I left, a -round dumpling of a niece, and now you have grown -into a little girl, with a pig-tail down your back." -</p> - -<p> -"I couldn't forget," said Eva, "when mother -talks of you every day and your likeness looks at -me as I go to sleep. Why I say good-night to you, -same as if you were there." -</p> - -<p> -"I think I'll go over and see them at the farm," -said Tom, when tea was ended. "I want to surprise -them as I surprised you, and you can come with me, -Eva, and see your chum." -</p> - -<p> -Eva's head went down, and Tom fancied he -saw tears on her long lashes. "I'll stay with -mother, thank you. Jack isn't chummy any -more. He doesn't want me now he has boys to -play with." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I expect he does," said Tom, consolingly, -"but now he goes to school and has regular lessons -he can't have so much time for play, nor should -you have, by rights. I suppose Eva has lessons -to learn as well as Jack?" turning to Clarissa. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I don't let her go to the State school; -there is a girls' school opened in the place by a rather -nice Englishwoman, and Eva goes to her every -morning and works at home in the afternoon, -but it's out of school hours that she misses Jack. -I don't know what has come over the boy. He -says he has 'no use' for girls." -</p> - -<p> -Tom laughed a little, but thought that Master -Jack wanted bringing down a peg or two. -However, he would go and see for himself. -</p> - -<p> -It was getting dusk as he crossed the paddock, -and no one seemed moving about the farm premises. -He had half hoped that Jack might have been -playing about somewhere, and that his first meeting -with the boy might have been when he was alone. -He let himself in gently by the garden gate and -stood looking round him. Every window and door -stood open, and in the verandah, lying back in a -long wicker chair, was Betty. The attitude was -such an unusual one that Tom divined at once that -all was not well with her. There was weariness -written on every line of the recumbent figure, not -weariness of body only, but weariness of mind. -And then Tom felt he had no right to watch her -and went forward to speak to her. -</p> - -<p> -"I'm a late visitor, Miss Treherne, but may I -come in?" -</p> - -<p> -Betty sprang to her feet with a glad cry of welcome. -</p> - -<p> -"Isn't it odd? you were the very man I was -wishing for. I wanted to talk to you about so -many things, and now you are here. Father and -mother have gone over to Wylmington to keep -the Carltons' silver wedding day, and I don't expect -them back until quite late." -</p> - -<p> -"So that some of the things you want to say to -me can be said here and now," said Tom, sinking -down into a chair by her side. "But first, I must -see my friend Jack. Shall I find the rogue round by -the stables?" -</p> - -<p> -"He's in bed," said Betty, shortly. -</p> - -<p> -"So you keep him to early hours," said Tom. -"I left Eva talking to her mother." -</p> - -<p> -"He's in bed because he's naughty, and it's the -only punishment I can inflict, and I should not be -surprised any day if he refused to go, and what my -next move would be does not yet appear. It's -quite certain I can't beat him." -</p> - -<p> -"But your father could. I'm no advocate for -beating, but occasionally a boy in the puppy stage -is better for it." -</p> - -<p> -"Father is too old and too lenient. Besides, he's -my responsibility," said Betty, with a little laugh -that had tears behind it. -</p> - -<p> -"You should send him home." -</p> - -<p> -"I would if my brother-in-law had anyone there -to mother him, although I should be sending half -my heart with him." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, depend upon it he's only passing through -one of the rather tiresome stages of development, -which every man-child experiences in a more or -less degree." -</p> - -<p> -"But which it needs a man's hand to guide him -through." -</p> - -<p> -"I'm not at all sure that a mother's or aunt's -influence does not go further," said Tom consolingly, -"but I shall be here for a few weeks now, and will -do what I can. Besides, I'm so fond of the boy. -I don't think little Jack the Englishman can have -gone far astray. Does your present clergyman -have much to say to him?" -</p> - -<p> -"Mr. Curtis?" answered Betty. "He's quite a -good man and a very hard worker, but he has no -knack with children. He is shy of them, and the -feeling is mutual." -</p> - -<p> -"And does Jack ring the bell still?" Tom asked, -with a little laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"No, he got late one or two Sundays, and -Mr. Curtis told him that if he could not be there in -time he would rather ring it himself. The novelty -and honour of the thing had worn off a little, and -Jack would not go any more and I did not think -it wise to force him." -</p> - -<p> -"But he goes to church?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh yes, he goes with me, and to Sunday School -also. He announced last Sunday that he was -getting too old to go to Sunday School, but I -promptly sat on him." -</p> - -<p> -"To sum up the matter, Master Jack has grown -a little too big for his boots." -</p> - -<p> -"Metaphorically and literally," Betty answered -smiling. "He's such a big boy for his age and very -manly; he is always out-growing his suits. People -often take him for twelve or thirteen, and he's -only eleven, and as it has always been his ambition -to be big, he assumes the airs of boys much older -than himself." -</p> - -<p> -Then Tom led Betty's thoughts to other channels, -told her something of his own travels and experiences, -and left her at last refreshed and soothed. But -all Betty had told him about Jack troubled him -rather. The boy must be summarily dealt with. -Jack was terribly chagrined in the morning -when he heard that Uncle Tom had arrived, and -had asked to see him. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-109"></a> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-109.jpg" alt="Jack, with his face skyward, smoking a cigarette. p. 109" /> -<br /> -JACK, WITH HIS FACE SKYWARD, SMOKING A CIGARETTE. p. 109 -</p> - -<p> -"What did you say, Aunt Betty?" -</p> - -<p> -"I had to tell him the truth, that I had sent -you to bed because you'd been naughty," said -Betty, quietly. "I'd run off directly after -breakfast and find him, if I were you." -</p> - -<p> -But Jack's conscience made a coward of him, -and instead of seeking Uncle Tom he ran off to a -far corner of the farm and threw himself behind a -stack, angry with himself and all the world. -Half-an-hour later, Tom, sauntering about the farm in -search of him, saw a tiny thread of smoke blown -round the corner of the stack, and, peering round -the corner, discovered Jack stretched full length -along the ground, with his face skyward, smoking -a cigarette. -</p> - -<p> -At the sound of a footstep Jack sprang to his -feet, thrusting the cigarette into his pocket, turned -scarlet and then very white, and came forward -with a slightly sheepish expression. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Uncle Tom, I'm jolly glad to see you," -he said, stretching out a brown paw. "I'm——" -and then he came to a pause, disconcerted by the -smiling gaze fixed upon him. -</p> - -<p> -"I'm afraid I disturbed you in the luxury of a -quiet smoke," said Tom, seating himself with his -back against the stack. "A new accomplishment, -eh! Jack?" -</p> - -<p> -Jack's face was sickly green now. "I was not -smoking," he said, avoiding the scrutiny of Tom's -eyes. "I was only going to light a bonfire." -</p> - -<p> -The answer was more serious than Tom had -believed. The boy lied, and Tom's heart was hot -within him, but his voice was almost alarmingly -quiet. -</p> - -<p> -"Let's have a look at your pockets, old man. -I would rather like to see what you've got in them." -</p> - -<p> -"I won't," said Jack, stung into defiance. -"You're not——" -</p> - -<p> -"Not Uncle Tom, were you going to say?" -went on Tom Chance. "It was a pretence relationship, -just a baby's whim to call me so. All right, -Jack, so be it, but it is not the welcome I expected -from my friend, Jack the Englishman," and he -turned to go, but Jack sprang after him, seizing -him by the hand. -</p> - -<p> -"Don't go, please don't go, Uncle Tom. I did -not mean it, really. I'm truly awf'ly glad to see -you, but it's treating me like a baby to tell me -to turn out my pockets." -</p> - -<p> -"Look here, Jack," said Tom, turning upon him -a face nearly as white as his own, "you know quite -well why I wanted to see into your pocket. It's -because I wanted to prove that you've lied to me. -You were smoking, which only showed you to be a -silly little ass. That could soon have been mended -by a straight talk, but you told a lie to cover it, -and that can't be mended. You'll carry the stain -of that lie to your life's end. I'm deeply, bitterly, -disappointed in you, and if you were my real nephew -I'd beat you with the greatest pleasure in life." -</p> - -<p> -Jack lifted sullen, unrepentant eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Beat me," he said, "beat me, and have done -with it." -</p> - -<p> -"No," said Tom. "Even that would not make -things level. You are neither sorry nor ashamed." -</p> - -<p> -He watched the knot climb into the boy's throat, -he could almost see the fight between the evil and -good spirit in his heart, and doubted which would -conquer. He could but admire the boy's outward -appearance, his splendid physique, his handsome -head set so firmly on his broad shoulders, but the -charm of the child that knows no evil was his no -longer. -</p> - -<p> -"Jack," said Tom again, "if you are giving me -a sore heart, what will you give your father? How -will you look him in the face if you can't speak the -truth and shame the devil?" -</p> - -<p> -Jack's arm went up as if to ward off a blow; -he tried to speak but choked in the effort, and then -he threw himself face forward on the grass, and -was sobbing as if his heart would break, and Tom -gave a long sigh of relief, for he knew the evil spirit -had departed. He suffered Jack to cry for quite a -long time. At last he bent over him, and touched -him on the shoulder. -</p> - -<p> -"Sit up, Jack. Suppose we have a talk, and -see what's gone wrong with you?" -</p> - -<p> -"I can't," said Jack, still hiding his face. "I -feel such a beast." -</p> - -<p> -"But I want to find out what's making you feel -like that." -</p> - -<p> -"And you'll hate me for ever and ever," said -Jack, disclosing one scarlet eye. -</p> - -<p> -"God forbid," said Tom, solemnly. -</p> - -<p> -"I didn't mean to tell—a lie"—Jack's tongue -stumbled over the disgraceful word—"I thought -you'd be angry with me for smoking and I said I -wasn't, all in a hurry, but I <i>wish</i> I hadn't." -</p> - -<p> -"So do I," interposed Tom. -</p> - -<p> -"But you can have it, you can have 'em all," -and Jack rose to his feet and fumbled in both his -pockets, producing a dirty little pocket handkerchief, -with which he mopped his eyes, a ball of twine, which -he threw impatiently on the ground, and finally a -box of matches and a half-smoked cigarette. He -handed the cigarette and the matches to Tom with -a shaking hand, who put them into his own pocket. -</p> - -<p> -"Now tell me how you got it?" -</p> - -<p> -"I bought 'em out of my pocket money." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you've smoked before?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, four times, but it made me—rather ill. -I wanted to smoke until the chaps at school could -see I could. They said I was a kid and couldn't. -I wanted 'em to see I could do the same as they -did." -</p> - -<p> -"It seems to me you've been an uncommonly -silly little boy, not a bit better than a monkey that -tries to copy all its companions' silly tricks. Nothing -seems to me quite so ridiculous as a boy who tries -to be a man before his time, and it's wrong as well. -You can spoil the splendid health and body God -has given you by beginning to smoke too soon. -And do the big boys you are so anxious to copy -tell lies, too, and cheat at lessons? Are you learning -that as well?" -</p> - -<p> -Jack quivered as if Tom had hit him. -</p> - -<p> -"I haven't lied until now. I wish you'd beat me." -</p> - -<p> -Instead, Tom caught him in his arms, and held -him fast a minute. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank God for that. At least we can thank Him -for that, that it is your first, and, let us trust, your -last lie. I could not love or trust a boy whose word -I could not believe, but you've got out of the right -road, boy, and you must come back again. You've -altered strangely from the little boy I left behind me." -</p> - -<p> -"I've grown big," said Jack, a little resentfully. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and you fancy yourself much bigger than -you are. Lots of little things tell me that, although -I only came back last night. You've thrown over -your chum, you are troublesome to Aunt Betty, -you fancy yourself too big for Sunday School—as -if we were ever, any of us, too big to go on learning -how to serve and please God! You've got to -relearn that you're just a little boy, who, if he ever -means to be of any good in the world and be a -real man, must learn first himself to be obedient, -brave; and truthful, and must keep his own course -straight, however crooked other boys may go. -Have you forgotten about your Confirmation, -Jack? You were keen about it when I went away." -</p> - -<p> -"I don't care so much about it now." -</p> - -<p> -"What has made you change your mind?" -</p> - -<p> -"Dick Chambers says it's all silly rot, only fit -for girls, and does them no good. Mr. Curtis came -after him and asked him about it, and he said he -would not go to the classes for anything." -</p> - -<p> -"Humph, and you'd rather take Dick Chambers' -opinion than Mr. Curtis's, or mine, or Aunt Betty's. -But we can leave the matter of your Confirmation -alone at present. Come along, now, and take me -over the farm, and show me all the changes since -I went away." -</p> - -<p> -Jack obeyed the summons readily enough. It -was an enormous relief to talk of something else, -and something of the misery of the morning faded -in the fascination of Tom's companionship, but as -they finally neared the house Jack drew back a little. -</p> - -<p> -"Uncle Tom, shall you tell Aunt Betty?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, the telling is yours, not mine." -</p> - -<p> -"Whom must I tell?" -</p> - -<p> -"God first and ask Him to forgive you, and -your father, and ask him the same thing." -</p> - -<p> -Jack winced. "Write it down; write down that -I've smoked and told a lie?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, put it down in black and white and look -at it. It will make you remember, and I don't -fancy you will do either again." -</p> - -<p> -The letter to father was written next day, and -Jack drank his cup of humiliation to the dregs as -he handed the letter, as usual, to Aunt Betty with -a crimson face. -</p> - -<p> -"You can read it if you like," he said. -</p> - -<p> -"You'll be very sorry to hear that I've told a lie -and smoked four cigarettes, but I promise faithfully -not to do it any more. Uncle Tom said I must -tell you and God." -</p> - -<p> -Betty laughed and cried over that letter at the -same time, and thanked God that Uncle Tom had -come back just in time to bring little Jack to -repentance. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER X -<br /><br /> -A BUSH TOUR -</h3> - -<p> -Tom did not propose to spend his four or five weeks -of holiday in idleness. Whilst making his sister's -house his headquarters, he determined to revisit -such places as lay within reach, and would start -off with his knapsack on his back, taking a two or -three days' tour at a time. -</p> - -<p> -"Why can't I walk with you?" Jack asked one -day, wistfully. "I'm ever so strong on my legs!" -</p> - -<p> -"Not strong enough for that," said Tom, but it -set him thinking what to do to brighten Jack's -holiday. The boy was manfully doing his best; -had reinstated himself in Eva's good graces by a -renewal of friendship and a demand for her -companionship, but having tasted the strong drink of -the fellowship of boys there was no question that -to go back to a girl playmate was a little like sipping -milk and water. His manner to Aunt Betty -changed from the confiding affection of infancy to -an obedient deference that she found distinctly -attractive, for Uncle Tom was constantly impressing -upon him by precept and example, that all women -should command gentleness and respect from the -masculine sex, so that not again had Betty to -complain of rude answers or disobedience. What -had passed between Jack and Tom she could only -dimly guess, but the result of Tom's treatment -was entirely satisfactory. -</p> - -<p> -One morning Tom presented himself at the farm -quite early in the day. -</p> - -<p> -"I've a plan to unfold, and I want your consent -before I speak to Jack about it," he said. He had -followed Betty to the dairy where she was busy -among her milk pans, and stood leaning against -the door-post. -</p> - -<p> -"Your treatment of him proves so entirely -salutary that you have my consent before I even -guess what your plan may be," she said, looking up -at him with smiling eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"That's good hearing. I have hired a horse for -a week, and am going to take a riding tour to various -townships and outlying farms that are beyond my -reach on foot, and I should like to take Jack with -me. Is there any pony on the farm that he could -borrow?" -</p> - -<p> -"Father has let him ride Tim lately. Tim has -quieted with age, and though still full of spirit, -seldom indulges in tricks. I don't know if the pony -could be spared for so long, but it would be so big -a joy to Jack that I feel as if father is certain to -consent." -</p> - -<p> -"Where may your father be found? I'll go -and ask him. I want to get off quickly while the -day is fairly cool. Meanwhile, will you put up in -Jack's school knapsack such things as are absolutely -needful for a few days' bush riding? Make it as -light as you can." -</p> - -<p> -"You are accepting father's consent as a foregone -conclusion." -</p> - -<p> -"I think so; it's his own fault that I do so. -He never yet has refused me anything I've asked." -</p> - -<p> -Jack was nearly wild with joy when, half-an-hour -later, he and Tom were trotting down the green lane -side by side. He turned in his saddle to wave his -cap to Eva and her mother who stood watching -their departure from the gate, then settled himself -in his seat with a quivering sigh of enjoyment. -</p> - -<p> -"It's just splendid of you to have thought of it. -Just think of riding with you for a whole week. I -wish it were for ever and ever." -</p> - -<p> -Tom laughed over Jack's enthusiasm. "I expect -we should both get pretty tired of it and of each -other then, Jack." -</p> - -<p> -"I shouldn't," declared Jack, stoutly, putting -Tim into a canter. "I'd never be tired of being -with you. You're the jolliest grown-up I've ever -seen except father. I'd like to stay with you until -I can go to him. It's queer he doesn't want me -now. I keep on telling him in every letter how -big I am. Where are we going to first?" -</p> - -<p> -"I propose to ride first to Jessie's home. We -shall drop in there just about dinner-time." -</p> - -<p> -"How jolly! We've seen her several times -since we saw you. She comes down here about -once a year. She's left Wylmington School ever -so long, and has gone as second teacher in a girls' -school in Launceston, so I don't expect we'll find -her." -</p> - -<p> -"You forget it will be her holiday time too. I -often hear from her, and she seems to have grown -quite strong." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and Aunt Betty says she's pretty," said -Jack, who had no opinion of his own about girls' -looks at present. -</p> - -<p> -The ride for the first eight miles was entirely -normal, along beautifully engineered roads which -climbed ever up and up by zig-zag courses through -the hill forests to Wylmington. Beyond were the -falls which in summer-time were a favourite resort -for picnic parties, but, leaving them to the right, -Tom followed one of the bush roads bearing to the -left, which was nothing more than a cart track, in -some places almost overgrown, and in others, where -more clearing had been done, opened out into a -glorious view of surrounding hills. As they rode -along Tom told Jack of his experience the last time -he had passed that way in a gale of wind and rain, -and how he had been weather-bound for the night -at Woodlands, Jessie's home. -</p> - -<p> -"We won't stop there to-night, will we?" asked -Jack, whose one idea was to put as great a distance -between himself and home as possible. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, no, I want to get on to the next homestead, -about ten miles further on, but it will be slow going, -as there is little more than a bridle-track to travel -by, and we could easily lose our way." -</p> - -<p> -"What fun! I hope we shall." -</p> - -<p> -"I don't," said Tom. "It's no laughing matter -to be lost in the bush. It's a very lonesome spot -we are going to, and we shall probably sleep in a -shakedown in the barn." -</p> - -<p> -Jack gave a joyous laugh of anticipation, but -here they were in sight of Woodlands, and he sprang -from his pony to open the gate which separated the -home clearing from the bush. Before they rode up -to the door Jessie had caught a glimpse of them and -came running towards them with a radiant face. She -had changed from a girl to a young woman and a pretty -young woman too, Tom thought, as he dismounted -and one of the boys came forward to take his horse. -</p> - -<p> -"We'll off-saddle them for an hour or two if we -may," he said, "and we've counted on Woodlands -hospitality to give us something to eat." -</p> - -<p> -"But of course," cried Jessie joyously. "I told -mother that the feeling in my bones meant -something good was to happen to-day, but I never -thought of anything half so good as this." -</p> - -<p> -Then came the farmer and his wife to welcome -their guests. The family dinner was over and the -boys dispersed about the farm, but a meal of sorts -should be ready in a brace of shakes, and the -"nipper" looked ready for it, which the nipper was, -for the ride had given him a hearty appetite. And -whilst Jessie flitted to and fro in hospitable -preparation, Tom noticed the stamp of refinement which -illness had left upon her, but there was something -more than refinement written on her face—a certain -radiance which he accepted as the outward -manifestation of an inward grace, a heart at peace with -God and all the world. -</p> - -<p> -"You found the right work for the girl," said -the farmer, following the direction of Tom's eyes. -"She just dotes on her teaching, and gets on well -with it. We shall have her up here some day, I -expect, setting us all to rights as school-teacher at -Wylmington." -</p> - -<p> -"Not yet, father," laughed Jessie, shaking her -finger at him. "I want to know ever so much more -before I try for a school of my own." -</p> - -<p> -"And will it be a school in the bush when that -time comes?" Tom asked. "Time was when you -did not like the Bush much." -</p> - -<p> -"I don't know; being away from them all makes -you long to be back, though a town school, where I -am now, teaches you a lot about discipline and such -things, but sometimes now I think I'll get back to -the country, where you can get to know all your -children and love them and have care of them out -of school as well as in it. And one can do -something for the church in these country places. I'm -learning to play the harmonium, and I could play -perhaps on Sundays when we have service. There's -no one to do it now, not even anyone who can lead -the singing. Don't you remember how you said -once that it was a clergyman's work to set the -machinery in a place going, the spiritual machinery, -and the work of the people to keep it alive and -active?" -</p> - -<p> -"Did I say that? You can't expect me to -remember all I said four years ago." -</p> - -<p> -"But I remember, because you were the first one -to talk to me about the church's order. You said -most people left their religion to chance and odd -times, and we ought to be as careful over it as over -our other work." -</p> - -<p> -"You were an attentive pupil, it seems," said -Tom, smiling at her. -</p> - -<p> -"Because you put things clearly so that I could -understand them," said Jessie simply. "When you -went away and I could not talk to you any more, -I wrote down a good many things you said, so as to -teach them to my class in the Sunday School." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you are a Sunday School teacher?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, yes, for over three years now. I love it -best of any of my teaching, and the Sunday School -is all alive where I am now. Here I found it very -difficult to get the children to care." -</p> - -<p> -Jack had slipped away with Jessie's father to see -a fresh brood of chickens, which gave Tom an -opportunity of some talk with Jessie about her work, but -presently he looked at his watch and said they must -be moving on, but, before the horses were re-saddled, -Mrs. Butler insisted upon a cup of tea, and sent -them on their way with a well-filled wallet of -provisions in case they got detained upon the road. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Is</i> Jessie pretty?" Jack inquired, as they rode -upon their way. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I think she is, but she's more than pretty: -she's good." -</p> - -<p> -"How d'you know?" Jack asked. -</p> - -<p> -"By her look—goodness, like evil, writes itself -upon people's faces, Jack—by her ways and by her -words," said Tom. -</p> - -<p> -The saying did not altogether please Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"It's rather horrid people can tell whether you -are good or bad by looking at you," he said. -</p> - -<p> -"Then you must take care only to do and think -such things as will give you a good face," said Tom, -with a little laugh, and then he began talking about -other things. -</p> - -<p> -How the week sped, a week which Jack was old -enough now to look back upon with pleasure all his -days! It was an unusually hot and dry year for -Tasmania, and the sun, beating upon the forests and rich -undergrowth through which they rode day after day, -brought out a pungent fragrance that acted like a -tonic, preventing any consciousness of fatigue. There -was a sense of adventure, too, in travelling by these -unknown and little trodden tracks that was quite -delightful to a boy, and delightful also was Tom's -companionship, and in fuller measure came back -his old ascendancy over Jack. Before it had been -the affection of a little child, but now it took the -form of a boy's hero-worship, the wish to grow into -a man something like Uncle Tom or father. The -mere fact that Tom could turn his hand to almost -anything was a deep source of admiration, from -lighting a fire to shoeing a horse. And Tom on his -side grew deeply attached to the little boy, whose -pluck and courage might have belonged to a boy -twice his age, whose interest in all he saw or heard -was so singularly alive, and quite unconsciously his -influence for good over the boy almost every hour of -the day was making itself felt. It was more from what -he did than what he said, although with a man like -Tom, whose first object and aim in life was to serve -God himself and to teach others to serve, it was -scarcely possible to live with him many days -without some mention of higher things. The mention -of such things might pass unnoticed, but the fact -that when they passed one or two nights in a shed -together, Jack saw Tom kneel down and say his -prayers with absorbing earnestness before he crept -into his bed of straw, was an object-lesson Jack -could not well forget. And again, when they woke -in the morning, Tom's hand searched in the -knapsack which had served as his pillow for the -Testament he always carried about with him, and he -would read aloud to Jack some parable, or miracle, -said or worked by our Lord, and invest it with an -entirely new character, making Jack feel it a reality -instead of something written in an old book that -might or might not be true. On the last morning -of their tour, as they sat together on the bole of a -huge forest tree that had been felled and left lying -along the ground until such time as it was carted -away, Tom chose for the morning reading the -account in the Acts of the churches that had not -yet received any open manifestation of the Spirit, -and of how the Apostles were sent for to bestow the -great gift. -</p> - -<p> -"And that is what we now call Confirmation, -Jack, that is the Bible teaching about it. I wonder -if anyone ever showed Dick Chambers that passage, -or tried to make it clear to him. He might change -his mind about its being all stuff and nonsense." -</p> - -<p> -Jack coloured a little. -</p> - -<p> -"But everyone who is confirmed isn't good, -Uncle Tom." -</p> - -<p> -"I don't say they are, Jack; I only tell you it is -a great help, a gift of God that I want every boy -and girl baptised in our church to look forward to -and get ready for. If you use a gift it may help you -immensely; if you neglect it or throw it away that -is not God's fault: it's yours." -</p> - -<p> -Jack did not make any answer; Tom did not -know if he even understood, but from that day -forward Jack renewed his determination to be -confirmed some day, when he was old enough, "same -as Jessie was." Perhaps it was Jessie's confirmation -that helped to give her a "good face," in which -conjecture there was more truth than little Jack -was aware of. -</p> - -<p> -And that evening found the companions at home -again, Jack very bronzed and voluble about all his -experiences of the different places they had stayed -at, and of the almost wild children they had come -across, of the snakes they had killed in the bush, of -their picnic meals, etc.; but, of the things that had -gone deepest, of his talks with Uncle Tom and of -the way Uncle Tom said his prayers, he never spoke -at all. They had sunk too deep to come up to the -surface. But Eva, as he talked to her, bemoaned -the fate that, in making her a girl, cut her off from -all these delightful pleasures. -</p> - -<p> -"Uncle Tom, we ought to have a blow-up for -Eva before you go," Jack said one day soon after -their return. "It <i>is</i> rather dull being a girl, you -know. Could not we have a picnic a long way off -on Thursday? It's my birthday; I shall be twelve -years old, but we could pretend it was Eva's." -</p> - -<p> -Uncle Tom was rather pleased at this budding -thoughtfulness for Jack's chum, and caught readily -at the notion. -</p> - -<p> -"We'll talk to my sister and Aunt Betty and see -what can be done," he said. "Has Eva ever been -to Wylmington Falls? If not, we could hire a brake, -get some of the neighbours to join us, and we'll call -it Eva's party." -</p> - -<p> -The notion caught on like wildfire, and Eva herself -was in ecstasies of delight. She watched every -cloudlet that flecked the sky with grave forebodings -lest the longed-for day should prove wet. -</p> - -<p> -"Not a chance of it," said Uncle Tom. "The -farmers are all longing for rain to save their crops, -which bush fires are constantly destroying," but that -rain should fall on Thursday was more than he or -any of the others could wish. And it did not rain! -Never was a more perfect day for a picnic. The -families at the farm and the cottage were early astir, -for everybody was coming except Mr. Treherne, who -had to stay behind for the task of looking after the -animals, for it was to be a real long summer holiday, -beginning with dinner directly they arrived, and -closing with tea before their return, which would -give the horses a nice long rest. So soon after -eleven the brake started off with Mrs. Kenyon, -Mrs. Treherne, Betty, and all the provisions packed -in hampers, and behind came the pony cart from -the farm driven by Tom, with Jack and Eva tucked -in by the side of him, and various other vehicles -joined them on the way, carrying invited guests, so -that it was quite a cavalcade that wound its way -along the circuitous road, and there was much -laughter and rivalry as to who should take the lead, -and who could keep it, and for one proud triumphant -moment Tom and the pony led the way, to be superseded -very quickly by the brake with its stout pair -of horses. But for the long, long climb at the end, -all were reduced to walking, and many of the -passengers got out, amongst them the children, -who plunged into the bush below and above them, -bringing back handfuls of flowers and berries. -</p> - -<p> -"And this afternoon, Eva, whilst the others are -lazing about, you and I will go blackberrying in the -bush. We'll make a surprise for Aunt Betty, who'll -be awfully pleased when we bring back a lot of -berries ready for jam," said Jack magnanimously, -determined to make the day altogether delightful -for Eva. -</p> - -<p> -"How lovely!" said Eva. "Don't forget we're to -keep it a secret. No one shall guess what we mean -to do." -</p> - -<p> -But now the carriages had turned into the rough -track which led to the famous falls, whose nearness -proclaimed itself by a distant roar of falling water, -a sound which mingled with the swirl of the river -under the bridge they had just driven over. -</p> - -<p> -A quarter of a mile through the green overgrown -track brought them to a large clearing, where open -sheds had been built for the special benefit of -picnicers, where a general halt was called, and whilst -the men busied themselves in taking out their horses -and giving them a rub down before securing them -in the sheds, the women and children collected fuel -for the fire, but Jack and Eva, fascinated by the -sound of the falling water, stole off hand in hand -to obtain a nearer view of the Falls. Arched over -their heads was a long avenue of tree ferns, under -their feet the rocks and stones which the winter -floods brought with them, but now the river had -withdrawn to its natural bed, and an exquisite -undergrowth of flowers and maidenhair fern -concealed the roughness of the way. More than once -Eva would have lost her footing but for Jack's hand, -but at last they reached the point where they could -obtain their first full view of the falls, three separate -cascades of foaming, sparkling water growing greater -and stronger in its fall, until it lost itself in the -turbulent river below. -</p> - -<p> -"One would not have much chance if one fell in," -said Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"No, it's lovely, but it frightens me and makes -me giddy to look at it. Take me back to the -others," Eva answered. -</p> - -<p> -Jack longed to linger, longed to scale the rough -ladders set against the hill, which would lead him -up to the higher falls, but the day was Eva's, and he -turned and gave her his hand. -</p> - -<p> -"It's a dreadful pity you're not a boy," was all -he said. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap11"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XI -<br /><br /> -A NARROW ESCAPE -</h3> - -<p> -After the mid-day meal people agreed to separate -and go their several ways. A goodly number -proposed to climb up to the second and third falls, -an impossible feat until lately, when the touring -club had provided upright fixed ladders to scale -the most inaccessible places, but the ladders were -steep and slippery with damp, and it was only the -younger and more venturesome of the party who -proffered for the excursion. -</p> - -<p> -"I shall want to take a few snapshots. They -tell me the falls, viewed from the top, are simply -magnificent," said Tom, slinging his camera across -his shoulders. "Jack, you shall come with us. I'll -answer for your safety," with a kindly hand laid on -the boy's shoulder. -</p> - -<p> -"I can't unless Eva is going too. I've promised -to be with her this afternoon, as it's her day, you -know." -</p> - -<p> -"Eva!" laughed Eva's mother. "Eva won't -go, will you, pussy? She's the most arrant little -coward in the world, but, encouraged by Betty, I -mean to venture, Tom, and it will take all your time -to look after me. Betty can look after herself." -</p> - -<p> -"I should think so," said Betty, with fine scorn. -"I should be ashamed of myself if I needed help -to climb a few ladders." -</p> - -<p> -It was with eyes of longing regret that Jack -watched the party start off through the aisle of tree -ferns and heard their merry voices gradually dying -away in the distance, but Eva's hand tugged at his. -</p> - -<p> -"It was just splendid of you, Jack, to stay with -me instead of going with them, and now, as mother -and Aunt Betty are gone, we need ask no one's -leave to go off by ourselves." -</p> - -<p> -"Of course not," said Jack, a little shortly, still -smarting with the pain of refusal. "I'm big enough -to take care of a girl half your age." -</p> - -<p> -Mrs. Treherne and various other matrons drew -out their work and their books and settled themselves -on a green oasis not far from the river, where -they could catch a glimpse of it as it rushed in -headlong impetuosity towards the valleys below, and -the children slipped away through the trees towards -the bridge which they must recross on their way to -the bush track which Jack had traversed with Tom -only a few days ago. -</p> - -<p> -"But how lovely this is!" said Eva, peering into -the recesses of the bush on either side. "We can -pretend that all sorts of things are happening; that -we've lost our way, you and I, and—and—the best -of pretending things is that you've all the fun of -things happening and never get frightened. We -might pretend that it was night, and that we'd had -nothing to eat all day." -</p> - -<p> -But Jack, a matter-of-fact schoolboy, whose days -of pretending were over, had little patience with all -these fancies. -</p> - -<p> -"But where's the good of pretending when we -aren't lost, and when we've had tons to eat? I'll tell -you what isn't pretence. If you went on along this -track through a big clearing which we shall come to -presently, you would reach Woodlands, Jessie's -home." -</p> - -<p> -"Could we get there?" said Eva excitedly. -"I'd rather see Jessie than gather cartloads of -blackberries." -</p> - -<p> -"That's the worst of girls," retorted Jack. "You -never know what they want! Which would you -<i>really</i> rather do—get blackberries or go to Jessie, -for it's flat we can't do both?" -</p> - -<p> -Eva hesitated, moving restlessly from one foot -to the other. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, speak up! blackberries or Jessie? for, if -you choose Jessie, we've no time to lose. It's a -goodish distance." -</p> - -<p> -"Could I walk it?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I think you could." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, then, let's make for Jessie. She <i>will</i> be -surprised to see us, more surprised even than when -you went with Uncle Tom, because, you see, you -were on horseback, and I'm only on my legs. She'll -wonder how on earth I got there," and Eva gave -an anticipatory chuckle at the thought of the -astonishment her appearance would create. -</p> - -<p> -It was rough walking through the bush, and -Eva's legs began to ache a little. -</p> - -<p> -"Is it a great deal further, Jack?" -</p> - -<p> -"We're only about half way there. I believe -we'd better go back, though we shall look rather -fools having done neither one thing nor the other," -but the suggestion of turning back did not please -his companion. -</p> - -<p> -"Let's rest a little, and then I'll get on all right. -There's heaps of time before us," so they sat with -their backs supported against the trunk of a tree, -whilst Jack told stories of his late experiences. At -last he sprang to his feet. -</p> - -<p> -"And now if we mean to get there at all this -afternoon," he said, "we must be getting on, unless -you would rather go back." -</p> - -<p> -"No, I'll go on; Jessie will be so surprised," -reiterated Eva, and the children little knew that -the decision, made so lightly, possibly saved both -their lives. As they neared the clearing which was -only about a mile and a half from Jessie's home, -Jack became aware of a distant fitful roar that he -could only imagine was the rising of the wind before -a coming storm, and wondered within himself what -he could do with Eva in such a predicament. -</p> - -<p> -"The sun's gone in and the sky's all -copper-coloured," said Eva, as they emerged into open -country, "I believe it's going to thunder;" but -Jack's quick eyes, glancing towards the horizon, -saw flames partially concealed by smoke leaping -and dancing through the bush, and knew that for -the first time in his life he was within reach of a -bush fire. He had watched many a one with delight -from the safe distance of his grandfather's farm, but -to see one racing towards him, urged on by a wind -behind, was a wholly different matter, and it was -the far-off roar of flames that he had heard, and -even Jack's brave little heart quailed before the -danger which threatened them, but it was of Eva's -safety that he thought rather than his own, and the -sense of responsibility weighed heavily upon him. -</p> - -<p class="capcenter"> -<a id="img-131"></a> -<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-131.jpg" alt="THEY RACED ALONG HAND IN HAND. p. 131" /> -<br /> -THEY RACED ALONG HAND IN HAND. p. 131 -</p> - -<p> -Two courses seemed open to him; either to turn -back or to push on at all possible speed towards -Woodlands, and once more he turned to see which -direction the fire was taking, and was alarmed to -find that retreat was impossible, for the wind was -carrying the flames along the forest of ringed trees -and dried undergrowth through which they had just -come at such terrific speed that long before they could -get back by the way they had come they would be -caught in the flames. Not only so, but the whole fire -was widening its course, creeping across the clearing -to the half-felled wood on the other side, licking up -everything that came in its way, so that they stood -in a half circle of fire, and might find themselves -surrounded unless fleetness of foot and coolness of -brain could save them. -</p> - -<p> -All this flashed through Jack's brain with the -rapidity of lightning. -</p> - -<p> -"Eva," he said, speaking as quietly as he could, -"we must hurry up a bit; that fire is coming our -way. Give us your hand! We must get along as -fast as ever we can." -</p> - -<p> -But Eva stood stock still, looking round with -eyes dilated with terror. -</p> - -<p> -"Take me back, Jack! Oh! how I wish we had -never come." -</p> - -<p> -"We can't get back," Jack answered with a little -thrill in his voice. "You mustn't cry, Eva! There's -no time to cry. Be a brick, do as I tell you, and -<i>don't be afraid</i>! We'll get through all right." -</p> - -<p> -Something of Jack's high courage gave Eva fresh -heart, and they raced along hand in hand, but Jack -though he spoke cheerily, was fully aware of their -danger; the roaring of the fire drew ever nearer -and nearer; clouds of smoke and sparks flew close -on their heels, and the glowing heat of the wind was -making itself felt very unpleasantly. -</p> - -<p> -Presently Eva released the hand that dragged her -along with a gasp. -</p> - -<p> -"I can't, I can't," she cried, with sobbing breath. -"I can't run another yard." -</p> - -<p> -"You'll get your second wind in a minute," said -Jack, almost in despair. "Look here!"—sinking -on to his knees. "Climb up, climb up I say. I'll -carry you on my back," and almost before she knew -what he did he had hoisted her on to his shoulders, -but with all the will in the world it was only for a -very short distance that he could carry her. The -perspiration was dripping from his head and face, -and Eva saw it and knew he was nearly played out. -</p> - -<p> -"Let me down," she said, struggling to free -herself. "My breath is coming back. I'll run again -now." -</p> - -<p> -"All right," Jack said, slipping her gently to the -ground. "Keep your pecker up! We shall beat -the old fire yet! D'you see that it's coming up -slowly this way and turning away from where -Woodlands is yonder? Another few minutes, if we -can keep up the pace, we'll be out of its reach," so -half walking, half running, they hurried on again, -casting fearful glances backwards and around to see -if the flames were gaining ground. Presently Jack -threw up his arms with a wild hurrah. -</p> - -<p> -"We're through, Eva, we're through all right! -I hear the cries of the beaters fighting back the -flames," and true enough, at some distance from -them were the farmer and his sons and a neighbour -or two who had hurried to the rescue, beating back -the flames which, snake-like, were creeping -insidiously along towards the farmer's crops. -</p> - -<p> -All danger of being surrounded now by the fire -was over, and the wayworn travellers proceeded -more leisurely to the homestead, which was close at -hand, but as Jack's fingers wrestled with the latch of -the gate, he found them trembling so much as to be -almost beyond control. They were scarcely inside -it, before Mrs. Butler and Jessie, who stood watching -the progress of the fire in the verandah, recognised -them and hurried down to meet them. -</p> - -<p> -"Jack! Eva!" cried Jessie, and the surprise in -her tone was even greater than Eva had pictured -it, but the poor child was far too worn out with -fatigue and excitement to understand anything but -that she was with friends and in a place of safety. -She threw out her arms to Jessie with a little cry, -and the next moment was sobbing her very heart -out on her shoulder. -</p> - -<p> -"But where do you come from?" asked Mrs. Butler, -looking down on Jack's quivering face. -</p> - -<p> -"From Wylmington Falls. We came up there—a -lot of us—for a picnic, and it suddenly came into -our heads, Eva's and mine, that we'd walk on and -pay you a surprise visit, but we've been racing the -fire, and she's about done for." -</p> - -<p> -"Poor lamb! Give her to me," said Mrs. Butler, -stretching out her arms for Eva. "The child is half -dead with terror and fatigue. We'll put her to bed -at once, and she'll sleep it off." -</p> - -<p> -But a fresh terror presented itself to Jack's mind. -What would those they had left behind them think -of their non-appearance? Aunt Betty was not one -to make a fuss, but if he and Eva did not come that -night, Jack, boy as he was, guessed something of the -pain she would endure, and there was Eva's mother -as well. Something must be done to let them know -that they were safe, but what did not yet appear. -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * * -</p> - -<p> -The party at the falls were detained much longer -than they expected on their climb. First one or -two of them were anxious to obtain the very best -possible views of the upper cascades, and their -companions were quite willing to rest whilst the -photographers were at work, and then, in descending from -the topmost fall, Clarissa slipped, wrenching her -ankle rather severely, and first handkerchiefs were -sacrificed to make a bandage, and then it was a -matter of real difficulty to get her down the -remainder of the way, so that it was nearly two hours -before the company were reassembled for tea. -Mrs. Kenyon, who was in considerable pain, was made as -comfortable as possible in an improvised easy chair -of cushions and brake fern, and the party scattered -in different directions, collecting wood for the fire -whilst Tom carried off the billy to the river to fill, in -readiness for tea. -</p> - -<p> -"Cooey for the children, will you?" said Betty, -lifting a hot face from the fire she was coaxing into -ablaze. "The idle rogues should have had this all -ready for us. Jack is a famous boy for a fire." -</p> - -<p> -So Tom returned to the river, looking up and -down its banks for the children, who he felt sure -were not far off, and sent a long cooey ringing down -the water, but no answer came to his call. -</p> - -<p> -"I can't see them anywhere," he said, returning -to Betty. -</p> - -<p> -"How tiresome of them to have wandered so far. -I wonder what direction they have taken. Mother, -did you see Jack and Eva go off together? Do -you know what has become of them?" -</p> - -<p> -"I fancy I caught sight of them hurrying off -towards the bridge," said another lady. "Jack -had a basket slung on his back, so depend upon it -they were in search of berries of sorts. There are a -good many ripening just now in the bush." -</p> - -<p> -"Here, mother, put in the tea; the billy is -boiling," said Betty. "I'll just run up towards the -bridge and have a look for them." -</p> - -<p> -"I'd come with you if I weren't as lame as a -duck," said Clarissa, "but ever since the bullock -incident, I've always felt Eva as safe with Jack as -with a man." -</p> - -<p> -"I'll come," said Tom. "You shall look in one -direction, and I in another. It's impossible that -they can be very far away," and he took his place -at Betty's side. -</p> - -<p> -"How oppressive the day has become! or is it that -I'm hurried, and a little flurried as well?" Betty -said with an uneasy laugh. "I'm not a nervous -woman, but I confess I'm rather frightened at the -children not being here, and I'm blaming myself -also for having left them so long." -</p> - -<p> -"Depend upon it we shall see them coming over -the bridge lugging an enormous basket of -blackberries. Eva was full of importance over some -secret scheme that she and Jack were going to -carry out, and it may have taken longer than -they calculated, as our expedition did this afternoon." -</p> - -<p> -The commonplace suggestion soothed Betty without -quite satisfying her. Tom threw up his head -suddenly, scenting the hot air. -</p> - -<p> -"The heat is explained also, I think, by the fact -that there must be a bush fire not very far away. I -smell the delicious pungency of its burning, and the -coppery look of the clouds veiling the sun suggests -smoke." -</p> - -<p> -"A bush fire near here," said Betty, turning a -white face on him. "You don't think that by any -chance the children have wandered into the bush -and——" her tongue clicked against the roof of her -mouth, refusing to voice her fears. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, dear no," said Tom ready to bite out his -own tongue at having hinted at the fire. "I feel -that they have wandered far down the river, -possibly to some haunt Jack thought a likely one -for blackberries." -</p> - -<p> -That suggestion did not comfort Betty greatly. -What was more likely than that Eva, venturing too -near the river, might have slipped in, and that Jack -and she had drowned together in his effort to save her. -and were they caught in the fire in the bush their -fate would be no less horrible! The fear, kept to -herself, was too terrible to bear. -</p> - -<p> -"I'm frightened," she said, trying to smile off her -terror. "I feel as if something frightful had -happened to the children." -</p> - -<p> -"It's scarcely like you to give way to nerves," -Tom said with a smile. "You go along the road -for a little way, and I will follow on by the river -bank. Cooey when you want me to come back;" -but he could not smother his own anxiety as he -scrambled along. -</p> - -<p> -Presently he heard a long cooey, and cooeyed an -answer with a sense of triumph. -</p> - -<p> -"And here we've been full of fears, like a couple -of grandmothers, and she's found them coming back -like a pair of puppies, a little ashamed of themselves -for having run away," he said, with a joyous little -laugh, but it was Betty alone he saw crossing the -bridge when he arrived there. -</p> - -<p> -"I thought surely you were bringing them with you." -</p> - -<p> -"I've found—this," Betty said, holding out a -large white ribbon bow. "It's Eva's bow." -</p> - -<p> -"And where?" -</p> - -<p> -"At the turning which leads to the bush." -</p> - -<p> -Their eyes met for a moment. "That, at any rate, -gives us some clue as to where to look for them. We -ought to be thankful for the bow and its message." -</p> - -<p> -"What message?" asked Betty. -</p> - -<p> -"That they are safe somewhere, I feel certain of -it. I was more frightened by the river than the -bush. Strayed children can be found." -</p> - -<p> -The sound of wheels from behind them made -them look round, and they saw that already some -of their party were on their homeward way. -</p> - -<p> -"What are you about, you two?" said the man, -drawing rein with a good-natured laugh. "Tea -will be over and done with before you get back. -I've got to be back with my missus to look after the -farm. I'd advise you to hurry up if you don't want -to miss your rations," and before they could answer, -or explain the cause of their delay, he had whipped -up his horses and had passed on his way, the grating -sound of the brakes dying out in the distance. -</p> - -<p> -"We must get back and tell them," said Betty, -"and then we must set about a systematic search. -I'm thankful those people did not stop to learn -what was the matter." -</p> - -<p> -Neither spoke as they hurried back to their -companions. Clarissa Kenyon's terror when she heard -the children were lost was absolutely ungovernable -in its expression. -</p> - -<p> -"Lost!" she cried. "And you two stand here -and do nothing?" -</p> - -<p> -She tried to get on to her feet, but the pain in her -ankle made her sink back into her seat with a little -cry. -</p> - -<p> -"We will do all we can," said Tom quietly, "and -we have some little clue in Eva's ribbon." -</p> - -<p> -Clarissa snatched it from him, and covered it -with kisses. -</p> - -<p> -"Joseph's coat, Joseph's coat," she said wildly. -"Some evil has befallen the child as it had befallen -him. Ah! what will become of me if I am to lose -her?" -</p> - -<p> -Betty knelt beside her with her arms round her. -</p> - -<p> -"We must neither say it nor think it," she said. -"Your brother and I and one or two others are off -in search of them. Mother, will you and Clarissa -go home? It's quite impossible that you can stay -here." -</p> - -<p> -"I shall stay whatever happens," said Clarissa. -"Is it likely I shall go whilst Eva's fate hangs in the -balance?" -</p> - -<p> -"But it doesn't hang," said a husky voice from -behind. "It's because I knew you'd be in such a -funk about her that I've come," and there advanced -into the circle a boy with grimed face and torn -clothes that only those who knew him best could -recognize as Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"Jack! Jack!" cried Betty, throwing her arms -about him, and her enormous feeling of relief found -vent in hysterical laughter. -</p> - -<p> -Questions poured in on the boy from every side. -</p> - -<p> -"Where had he come from, where was Eva?" -etc., but Tom, watching Jack's face paling under -its grime, knew him fairly played out. -</p> - -<p> -"Eva is with Jessie," was all he could gasp out, -and he would have fallen to the ground but that -Tom's arms caught him and laid him down gently on -a bed of fern. -</p> - -<p> -"Give him air and space and a drink of water. -His story can wait till later. It's enough to know -they are safe." -</p> - -<p> -Tom's intervention saved Jack from fainting, -and in a few minutes he was able to relate what had -occurred. -</p> - -<p> -"And when Eva was put to bed," he said, "I ran -off to join the beaters, but I found the fire had swept -on, taking a different course, so there was no need -for further alarm. Then I sneaked off on my own -to see if there was a chance of getting back to you, -and I got through somehow." -</p> - -<p> -"Came through the bush?" said Tom. "It was -a horrible risk." -</p> - -<p> -"But someone had to come, and I found a place -where the fire had not caught on much, and I made -a dash for it and dodged it, racing from tree to tree. -No, I've not a burn on me. The soles of my boots are -scorched and my clothes half off my back, because -I could not stop to pick my way, and the fire had -only penetrated quite a narrow way into the bush. -The puzzle was when I came to the far side of it to -find the track. I should have been here quicker -else." -</p> - -<p> -"But you found it all right at last." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I found it safe enough. That's why I -wanted to get off whilst it was daylight. Even with -a moon I should have lost my way." -</p> - -<p> -"But what of those left behind?" -</p> - -<p> -Jack made a little grimace. "I never thought of -them, only of you, but it's different, isn't it? Eva's -all right. She'll sleep as sound as a top till the -morning, and for the rest, I don't belong to them as -I do to Aunt Betty." -</p> - -<p> -"No, no," said Clarissa Kenyon, seizing one of -Jack's hands, and laying her soft cheek against it. -"They will only wonder vaguely what has become -of you, but my heart was breaking, Jack, breaking -with the fear that I had lost my little Eva. God -bless you for bringing me the news of her safety." -</p> - -<p> -Jack drew away his hand uneasily as her tears fell -on it, and tried to rub it clean. -</p> - -<p> -"Come along, Jack, come down to the river and -have a wash and a comb up before we start for home," -said Aunt Betty, in her matter-of-fact way, but Jack -never guessed that her heart was thumping against -her ribs with joy and pride in the boy who was ready -to go through fire or water if he thought that duty -demanded it of him, and her pride found its lawful -expression later when she found herself alone with -Tom for a minute. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," he answered with quiet satisfaction. "He -promises to turn into a boy that his father will be -proud of one day." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap12"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XII -<br /><br /> -GOING HOME -</h3> - -<p> -"Jack," called Betty, a few days afterwards, "come -in a minute. I want to speak to you." -</p> - -<p> -Jack passed in rapid review his conduct of the last -few days, and decided that there was nothing Aunt -Betty could want to lecture him about, and yet the -brevity of the summons sounded like the preface to -a lecture. He came up the paddock rather -reluctantly. -</p> - -<p> -"Well," he said, joining her in the verandah, but -not sitting down. "Don't keep me long, there's a -dear. I'm making an aeroplane, and it's -frightfully exciting." -</p> - -<p> -"But I think the news I have for you will be -frightfully exciting too," she said smiling at him. -</p> - -<p> -Jack's eyes shone like stars. "Is it that father's -coming?" -</p> - -<p> -Betty's heart smote her that she had raised the -boy's hope so high only to dash it again. -</p> - -<p> -"Not quite so exciting as that, but something -that will get you more ready to go to England. -Father wants you to go to school in Melbourne, a -boys' school that Uncle Tom knows about, and -thinks a good one. Father is very anxious that you -should be working hard now so that you will be -able to take your place with other boys of your -age when you go home." -</p> - -<p> -Jack seized his cap from his head and sent it -spinning into the air with a whoop of triumph. -</p> - -<p> -"I should say it just was exciting! Why, Aunt -Betty, it's glorious." -</p> - -<p> -His delight was so natural, that Betty would not -dim it by any expression of personal regret. Besides, -although she did not tell Jack this, his father's -decision was the result of her own advice. She -did not consider that the experiment of sending him -to the State school had answered. He was too -well known to every boy in the place, and was -contracting acquaintances she did not care for him -to make, and imitating follies that were by no means -harmless, and she believed a complete change of -companionship would be better for him and for -his progress in learning. She knew that Captain -Stephens was making not only a name but some -money by his inventive skill and mastership of -aircraft, and that it was his full intention to give -Jack a good education, so she had written some -months back suggesting the change of school and -saying that she believed her influence over Jack -stood a better chance of making itself felt when he -was away from her and constantly in need of her -than now, when more than half his time was spent -out of her sight, and when her presence at home -was so completely a matter of course that he scarcely -realised its value. And from Jack's father had -come an entirely reassuring answer. No mother -could have his little son's interests more entirely -at heart than Betty, and he was quite willing to accept -her judgment, and that of the man who had acted -the part of a kind and wise elder brother to Jack, and -to send him to the school Tom Chance recommended. -</p> - -<p> -"And you need not worry about ways and means. -Let Jack have a proper school outfit. You will -know what he needs better than I. It was certainly -my wish at first that he should remain with you -at all hazards until I could come and fetch him, but -the time has been longer than I at first expected, and -I quite see the force of your argument that he shall -be able to take his proper standing with other boys -of his age on his return, and possibly the education -of a State school would hardly prepare him for this. -Is it asking too much that Tom Chance will keep an -eye to him as regards religious matters? A boy's -first plunge into school life is an important era in -his life. I'm not sure that Mr. Chance is still in -the colony, but if you are in touch with him tell -him what I feel about it." -</p> - -<p> -All this was running through Betty's mind as -she listened to Jack's outpouring of delight. -</p> - -<p> -"And when am I going, Aunt Betty?" -</p> - -<p> -"Next term if you can be taken in. I've already -written to the head-master about you, for this has -been in our heads for some time, although I could not -mention it to you until I knew father's decision. -Now I see no reason why you should not travel -back to Melbourne under Uncle Tom's care." -</p> - -<p> -Jack fairly danced with joy. -</p> - -<p> -"I'm off, Aunt Betty; I'm off to find Uncle -Tom, and to tell Eva. She'll mind rather much, -I fancy, but I'll tell her she can write to me if she -likes, and I'll answer as I get time," and away he -flew, leaving Betty half amused and half heart-sore. -</p> - -<p> -"A budding lord of creation," she said to Tom -later in the day when he came to talk matters over -with her. -</p> - -<p> -"Women and girls find their right place in looking -after him." -</p> - -<p> -The words were playful, but there was an under-lying -sadness in them. -</p> - -<p> -"It's partly the fault of the women and the girls -who spoil boys and men, isn't it? But there's -scarcely one amongst us but owns in his secret -heart that all that is noble in him he owes to the -influence of some good woman—a mother, a sister, -or an aunt—and Jack, come to man's estate, will look -back and call Aunt Betty's name blessed." -</p> - -<p> -Tears stood in Betty's eyes, but her smile was sweet -and tender. -</p> - -<p> -"If that prophecy comes true, I shall consider -that life has been worth living," she said. -</p> - -<p> -"Let us hope that there may be other causes by -that time which will make your life very much worth -living; others who will need you even more than -little Jack, a husband, perhaps, and—children of -your own." -</p> - -<p> -The colour mounted to Betty's face flooding it -from brow to chin, then faded leaving her deadly -pale. Tom was standing over her looking down on -her with a smile that told her more clearly than any -words that he loved her, that the husband his -imagination pictured was himself. -</p> - -<p> -"Betty," he said, using her Christian name for -the first time, "I did not mean to speak yet. I -meant to wait until I am recalled to England and -have a likelihood of a home to offer you, but your -regret at losing your Jack led me on. Should I do, -can you think of me as the husband? Betty, my -dear, my whole heart cries out to you, I love you so. -I don't know when it began, but I almost think it -was the first day we ever met, and you caught me -at cricket. It will be the biggest blow of my life -if you catch me out now. Betty, my sweet one, what -answer will you give me? My whole happiness hangs -on it. Is it yes, or no?" -</p> - -<p> -Betty looked into his face with a tremulous smile, -put out her hands to him, and the next moment -was clasped in his arms. -</p> - -<p> -"My darling," he said, as he reverently kissed her, -"you shall never have cause to regret your decision." -</p> - -<p> -In the first few moments of their tumultuous -happiness neither wished to speak; it was enough -for Betty to feel Tom's arm round her, and to know -that she was his for evermore, his helpmeet, sharing -his home and work, the one man in the world she -had ever loved, for a pretty helpful girl like Betty -had had other men who wished to marry her, but -not one of them had even set her pulses beating, much -less suggested himself as her husband, but now she -had entered her kingdom! Was ever girl quite as -happy as she was at this moment? -</p> - -<p> -Later on they talked of their future. Tom had -mapped out work that would take him about two -years to carry through, and then he meant to go -home. -</p> - -<p> -"And you will come with me, Betty darling, -come with me as my wife," he said joyously. "I -wonder if you realise what you are doing in marrying -me. It's rather like catching a lark and shutting -it up in a close dark cage, for my work will lie in -some slum parish probably, where sorrow and sin -will close you in on every side, and after your free -country-life out here, you will feel choked by it -often and often." -</p> - -<p> -"I daresay I shall, but—I shall have you," said -Betty, simply. "Shall we go and tell mother?" -</p> - -<p> -Mr. and Mrs. Treherne's consent was a foregone -conclusion, and separation from their only daughter -being as yet a thing in the distance, left them free -now to rejoice in her happiness. Ted's congratulations -when he came in from the farm were rather less -hearty. -</p> - -<p> -"It's rather a mean trick to play," he said. "You -had all England to choose from, and you come out -here and want to carry off our Betty, and there's -not a girl who can hold a candle to her in all the -colony, is there, mother?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not one," said Mrs. Treherne, giving the hand -she held a squeeze. -</p> - -<p> -"And that's the very reason why I want to take -her home when the time comes," said Tom with -a happy laugh. "I want them to see the kind of -girl the colony can produce. I don't underrate -her, Ted." -</p> - -<p> -"I won't stay and be discussed as if I wasn't -here," said Betty, blushing a little. "Ought not -we to go and see Clarissa, Tom?" so they walked off -together down the paddock, hand-in-hand. -</p> - -<p> -"And that's how they'll walk off one day for good -and all," said Ted, watching them moodily from -the verandah. "Hang it all, mother. I wonder you -can take it so quietly. Why can't she marry some -man in the colony, and stay in the land she belongs -to? They will only look down upon her in -England," but that fired Mrs. Treherne into speech. -</p> - -<p> -"Look down on her! Look down on my Betty! -Isn't it because I know that to Tom she is the one -woman in all the world that I give my consent to -his carrying her away? But don't rub it in, Ted," -and her tone was a little weary. "She's not going -yet for a year or two, and every mother has to face -the fact that the young ones she has reared and loved -will fly off sometime and make nests of their own. -It's God's law, and there is no escaping it." -</p> - -<p> -Ted bent and brushed his bronzed cheek against -hers. -</p> - -<p> -"No fear, mother. There's one who will stick -by the old birds, and keep their nest warm and dry -for them," he said gruffly, and stirred by an unusual -emotion he strolled off to the farm and solaced -himself with a pipe. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile no explanations were necessary with -Clarissa. She just glanced at the smiling faces, -saw the clasped hands, and burst into a laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"So it's settled at last," she said, her own hands -closing over their clasped ones, "but the wonder -to me is why you have been so long about it, for -you've known your own minds long enough. -Betty, my dear, you're a lucky woman." -</p> - -<p> -"As if I didn't know it," protested Betty, as -Clarissa kissed her. -</p> - -<p> -"But I remember your telling me almost the -first night I came that you should like a sister just -like Betty," Tom grumbled. -</p> - -<p> -"So I did, so I do, but all the same I call her a -lucky sister in marrying you," and with that -assertion Betty was well content. -</p> - -<p> -"Shall you tell the children?" Clarissa asked -later. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh yes," Betty said. "I never see the use of -making mysteries out of things that are clear and -true as daylight, and to Jack it will make no -difference. He claimed Tom as his uncle long ago. -Where are they, Clarissa? Jack rushed off here in -great excitement to tell the news of his going to -school, and I have not seen him since." -</p> - -<p> -"They are in the garden, I think. Eva is full -of lamentation that she was not born a boy, so that -she might go to school with Jack, but he comforts -her by reminding her that she would be in a lower -form, and would see little of him!" -</p> - -<p> -"He's a little beyond himself; he'll come back -to his bearings directly," Tom said. "It's the first -event of importance that has come to him. Come, -Betty; we will find them." -</p> - -<p> -They sat side by side in the swing, their heads -close together deep in conversation, but at sight -of Aunt Betty and Tom, Jack sprang to the ground -and came rushing towards them. -</p> - -<p> -"Uncle Tom, has Aunt Betty told you? Do -you know I'm going to school?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I know that and something else which -makes me very glad, happier than I've ever been in -all my life." -</p> - -<p> -"What?" asked Jack and Eva in chorus. -</p> - -<p> -"That some day, when I go home, Aunt Betty -will marry me, and go home with me as my wife. -That's a big bit of news, isn't it, Jack?" -</p> - -<p> -Eva laughed and clapped her hands, but Jack -stood looking from Tom to Aunt Betty, with a -slight air of bewilderment. -</p> - -<p> -"Then she'll stay with you for ever and ever?" -he said. -</p> - -<p> -"I hope so, Jack," said Tom, with a little laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"And you'll be my real uncle, not a pretence -one?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said Tom again. -</p> - -<p> -"Then I'm jolly glad, and oh, Aunt Betty," -fresh light dawning on him, "it will mean that -I'll have you always too the same as I do now. I -think I'm almost as glad as Uncle Tom," and -forgetful of his boyish dignity his arms closed round -her neck in a rapturous hug, and Betty, as she held -him fast, felt no congratulation on her engagement -was quite so dear and sweet as his. -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * * -</p> - -<p> -The days would have dragged heavily after Jack's -departure but for the new great happiness which -filled Betty's heart to overflowing. Tom had -taken Jack to school and installed him there, a -very good school Tom told her, with a wholesome -religious basis, where "Jack will get such teaching -as you and his father would wish him to have," -Tom wrote, and Betty was content in this, as in -all things, to rely upon Tom's judgment. -</p> - -<p> -Months passed by, Jack came for his first holidays -full of his school-mates, and, what pleased Betty -more, very full of his work. -</p> - -<p> -He was developing rather an extraordinary turn -for mathematics and mechanics, and spent most of -his recreation time in the workshop attached to -his school, intent upon models of various sorts, and -Betty rejoiced and sympathised with his hobby. It -was all helping to get him ready for his future work. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile, as the months ran into years, Betty -went on quite quietly and contentedly with her -own work—her preparations for her marriage -which she now knew not to be far distant. Had -not Tom said he would come to fetch her in about -two years? The dainty garments she fashioned -were finished one by one and laid by in a box which -she named her glory box. -</p> - -<p> -"For it is a glory, mother, to be loved by a man -like Tom," she said. -</p> - -<p> -"Then my gift shall be the household linen," -said Mrs. Treherne, and side by side with the glory -box there stood a large chest which received -Mrs. Treherne's contributions as they were folded and -marked in readiness for Betty's marriage. -</p> - -<p> -And true to his promise when the two years were -nearly completed Tom wrote a letter, almost -incoherent in its happiness, to tell her he was coming -to claim his own. -</p> - -<p> -"I shall bring Jack along with me, for, as you -know, his holidays will be due, and the dear boy is -looking forward with sober happiness to his -Confirmation day. I always promised to be present at -it if I were still in the Colony, and the Bishop, I -hear, holds one at Wallaroo about the 21st of -December. Jack's preparation has been a careful -one, and by his letters to me I think his mind is -fully made up to continue Christ's faithful soldier -and servant unto his life's end. He had his choice -of being confirmed in the cathedral at Melbourne, -when some other lads from his school received the -laying on of hands, but he wrote that he would -rather wait for the Confirmation in his own little -church at home, 'when you and Aunt Betty will -be there with me.' I thought it sweet of the boy, -but, indeed, my Betty, I think Jack will turn into -a boy you will have every cause to be proud of." -</p> - -<p> -And the post which brought that letter brought -another which was almost as important. Jack's -father was coming to take his boy home; indeed, -within a week of the letter's departure he would -be on his way. Pressure of business would make his -stay in the colony a short one, "but I always -promised Jack to come and fetch him, and I will keep -my word." -</p> - -<p> -He gave the name of the liner in which his passage -was taken, and the date when she was due at Melbourne. -</p> - -<p> -"But mother—it's too delightful," said Betty, -looking up from the letter. "Jack's father is coming -and is due in Melbourne on the 18th or 19th of -December. By good luck he should be here on -Jack's Confirmation day. Won't it be beautiful -if he is?" -</p> - -<p> -And through the coming weeks Betty lived on -in happy expectation, wondering what she had -done to deserve such happiness. Jack was coming, -and Jack's father, and, what was greater still, her -own Tom, from whom, God willing, she would never -again be separated. -</p> - -<p> -Clarissa had clamoured to make her her wedding -gown, but Betty asserted she did not mean to -have one. -</p> - -<p> -"Tom and I are of one mind," she said. "We -think the greatest and holiest day of our lives shall -not be desecrated by flutter and fuss. I'll be married -in a coat and skirt, a white one if you prefer it, -and we mean to have no fuss of any kind, and we -want only those present who love us, and will say -their prayers for us. We have not yet settled the -day, but it will be pretty soon after he comes, -for he has marching orders to return to England. -He means to take our passages for about the end of -the year. Don't you wish you were coming too?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, I don't," said Clarissa, vehemently. "I -love this place and its kind, warm-hearted people, -and I love your father and mother, and mean to -make up your loss to them as far as I can. I know -it will be very imperfectly accomplished, but just -think of the desolation which will be theirs when -you've left them for good, gone out of their reach, -Betty." -</p> - -<p> -Tears stood in Betty's eyes. "Yes, I know, -and often I wonder at myself for doing it, and -yet—it's not that I love them less than I ever did, -that I don't know what I'm leaving behind me, -but if Tom were going to the uttermost parts of -the earth I feel my call to go with him. I love -him better than life itself, Clarissa. Don't you -know what I mean?" -</p> - -<p> -Clarissa was very white. "Yes, I loved George -like that, but, unlike you, I married without the -sanction of my father, and I never felt that God's -blessing followed me as it will follow you, my Betty, -going before and after like the pillar of cloud that -guided the Israelites. It's because I love George -so dearly that I don't want to go home. I want -to live and die in the country where we spent our -short married life together." -</p> - -<p> -On the 16th of December Betty stood in her simple -white gown waiting at the corner of the green lane -for the evening coach that was to bring Tom and -Jack from the station, and as she heard the rattle of -the wheels and the sound of the galloping horses -breasting the hill, her own heart beat in joyful -sympathy, for her happiness was close at hand. -And almost before the coach stood still, Tom and -Jack had jumped from their seats on the top, and -were taking her eagerly between them up the green -lane towards the farm. -</p> - -<p> -"But, Jack, you grow by feet, not by inches," -said Betty, putting him a little away from her -that she might see him more distinctly. "Father -will feel quite shy of you." -</p> - -<p> -"More than I'll be of him, then. Do you see -he's won a medal for his last invention, Aunt Betty? -Isn't he glorious? The boys at school chaff me -because they say I'm always boasting about father, -and I tell them they would boast too if they had -a father like him to boast about. Why, there's -Eva, waiting at the gate. I'll just run on and have -a word with her." -</p> - -<p> -Then Tom and Betty were left alone, and took -a long look into each other's eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, darling! Are you ready for me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Quite ready. Have I not said so often enough." -</p> - -<p> -"And you will marry me any day I like?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, mother knows we both wish it to be as -quiet as possible, to have no splash breakfast, not -even a wedding cake." -</p> - -<p> -"Then I've settled it," said Tom joyously. -"I saw the Bishop at Launceston and he's kind -enough to express a wish to perform the Service. -The Confirmation is to be quite early in the morning -of the twenty-first and if you could fix the wedding -to take place immediately after it, it would be -delightful. It's short notice, but will it suit you, -my darling? The time has dragged just lately -Your face, your dear face, has come between me -and my work. We've been pretty patient, I think. -Will your mother object?" -</p> - -<p> -"The time will suit me, and I don't think -mother will object," said Betty, slipping her hand -into his. "She is prepared for us to sail about the -end of the year. She knows the parting is quite -close; sometimes I think the strain tells on her. -It will be better for her when it's over. We needn't -tell anyone, Tom. We'll be married and slip away -somewhere." -</p> - -<p> -"To Melbourne," said Tom, "or we'll keep our -Christmas at Launceston and your luggage can -follow us there." -</p> - -<p> -"And it's a good time in a way for us to be going, -for Jack's father will be here and take away the -bitterness of the parting. He will be following us -soon to England." -</p> - -<p> -"Betty, are you afraid, afraid to trust yourself -to me all that long distance from home? It's -a tremendous trust you give me." -</p> - -<p> -Betty turned her face, glorified by love, to his. -</p> - -<p> -"Afraid! with <i>you</i>, Tom!" and Tom was satisfied. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap13"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIII -<br /><br /> -TWO VENTURES OF HOPE -</h3> - -<p> -It was the evening before Jack's confirmation -and Tom's and Betty's wedding day. Up and -down the paddock paced Tom and Jack, arm in arm, -and Tom's heart was almost as full of the boy who -gripped his arm as of the fair woman whom he -would call wife on the morrow. -</p> - -<p> -"It will be a great day for us both, Jack," he said, -giving expression to his thought. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Uncle Tom." -</p> - -<p> -"Your whole life may depend upon your decision." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, it's rather awful when you come to think -of it." -</p> - -<p> -"It would be if you did not feel sure that the -hosts of God, that God Himself is behind you." -</p> - -<p> -"Uncle Tom, I want to grow into just such a man -as you." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah no," said Tom quickly. "There is but -one model for us all to copy, the man Christ Jesus." -</p> - -<p> -Jack's heart was too full to answer. -</p> - -<p> -"I do wish father could have got here in time," -he said, wistfully. -</p> - -<p> -"Aunt Betty thinks he will appear some time -to-morrow, but she does not think it possible that -he can arrive in time for the service." -</p> - -<p> -"I heartily wish he could for all our sakes. Aunt -Betty is almost as keen as you, for she longs to get -a glimpse of him before I carry her off. We leave -for Launceston in the afternoon." -</p> - -<p> -"It would be just beastly if I did not know that -I shall see you both in England in a few months' -time; but now I shall have father, and going about -with him all the time, I shan't be able to miss -anyone very much. I wish girls didn't cry. Whenever -I talk of going to England, Eva cries or blows her -nose to prevent it! Men aren't made like that, -are they? It would be horrid if they were! I -always tell her to dry up, and perhaps some day, -when I'm a man, I'll come out and marry her." -</p> - -<p> -Tom laughed out loud; it was rather refreshing -to find that the boy at his side, so manly in some -ways, was still at heart as innocent as a child. -</p> - -<p> -"But Eva might have found someone else to -marry by that time," he suggested. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, of course if she did it would be all right, -and she would not want me," said Jack, nonchalantly, -in no way affected at the thought of the -loss of his ladylove. "She has cheered up a bit -since Aunt Betty has consented to her being bridesmaid, -although she's not to be dressed up fine, just -a new white frock and a white muslin hat, she says." -</p> - -<p> -Then Aunt Betty's voice, ringing down the paddock, -called them both in to supper. -</p> - -<p> -The little church was full to overflowing on the -morrow, for quick as had been the final choice of -the wedding day the rumour of it had spread -like fire through the township, and loving hands -had been busy on the previous afternoon, decorating -the tiny sanctuary with Madonna lilies and other -white flowers for the double service. And all had -been carried through so quickly and quietly that -no one at the farm knew anything of it. -</p> - -<p> -It was only a handful of candidates that were -presented for Confirmation, not more than a score, -but of those it may be said that the present Vicar -had spent much time and prayer on their preparation. -The candidates were ranged in the front seats, and -quite at the back of the church was seated the party -from the farm, with Clarissa and Eva, and the -intervening benches were filled with neighbours from the -township. The only one who had come from a -distance was Jessie Butler, who hearing that her friend -of earlier years was to be confirmed, and remembering -his presence at her own confirmation, had come to -stay a night or two with someone in Wallaroo on -purpose to be present when Jack was confirmed. -</p> - -<p> -The congregation rose simultaneously to its feet -as the Bishop, preceded by the Vicar, appeared -from the tiny vestry, and the service began with a -hymn, during the singing of which the rather -unusual sound of a motor driving at full speed and -brought to a sudden standstill outside the open -door of the little church, fell upon Betty's ear. -Could it be the sudden arrival of a belated candidate. -But creeping quietly into the church, her glad eyes -recognised Jack's father, standing hesitatingly in -the doorway. He had motored all the way from -Launceston to be present at his son's Confirmation, -and Mr. Treherne, with a quick movement, motioned -him to Betty's side. It was the one presence she -and Jack needed to make the day perfect in their -eyes. And a great joy and thankfulness filled -the elder Jack's heart, as he recognised his tall -boy standing at the head of the row of boy -candidates, and heard his emphatic promise to renew -his baptismal promises and serve God manfully -for the rest of his life, and when it came to Jack's -turn to kneel before the Bishop and receive the -laying on of hands, Betty's hand sought for a -moment that of her brother-in-law, and together -they sank upon their knees and prayed very -fervently for God's blessing on the head of the boy -who was almost equally dear to both of them. -</p> - -<p> -The Bishop's charge was a very simple one, but -the earnest words could scarcely fail to reach the -hearts of all who listened to them, and a reverent -hush fell on the congregation as he pronounced -the blessing. And then there was a pause for those -who wished to leave the church, but not one stirred -from his place. They waited for what was to follow. -Then Tom, with a glance at Betty, moved to the -chancel steps to be followed immediately by Betty, -leaning on her father's arm, while little Eva with -round wondering eyes took her place behind, and -forthwith the wedding service proceeded. Jack's -father, meanwhile, had walked up the church and -taken his own place by his son. -</p> - -<p> -Then, in low clear voices, fully audible to all -present, Tom and Betty spoke out their promises -to be true and loyal to each other as long as life -should last. There were those in the congregation -who beforehand had grumbled that such an unusual -event as a wedding should be carried through -in what they were pleased to call such a hole-and-corner -fashion, but criticism vanished when the -simply attired bride came down the church upon -her husband's arm. All felt the bright-faced bride -was in her right setting. -</p> - -<p> -The Bishop, after shaking hands with the wedding -couple, had to hurry off for another function, and -then the wedding party walked quietly back to the -farm, where a meal, laid in readiness beforehand, -awaited them. Jack sat by his father and Tom and -Betty were placed in the centre of the table. Just -at the end of the meal, Mr. Treherne rose to his feet. -</p> - -<p> -"God bless my girl, as good a daughter as ever -stepped, and God bless the man she has married," -was all he said, and Betty turned and kissed him. -</p> - -<p> -The last half hour before the buggy came round -to carry them to the station was spent by Betty in -her mother's room. What passed between them -none knew, but when Betty came out in her neat -travelling dress, there were traces of tears in her -eyes. Then came the hubbub of adieus, and more -farewells had to be spoken at the gate of the paddock, -where half the township had gathered to wish the -bride and bridegroom farewell. Missiles of all -description had been tabooed, but the kindly cheers -of her neighbours, the eager outstretched hands -which grasped hers, were a lovely ending to a happy -life, thought Betty, as she drove off with her -husband at her side. For she fully realised that one -page of her life was folded down, but another page, -very fair and white, was spread out before her. -</p> - -<p> -What shall be written upon it is not for us to say. -Some blots will surely blister it. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Into each life some rain must fall,<br /> - Some days must be dark and dreary."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -But now as Betty drives away with sunshine in -her face and sunshine in her heart, we breathe the -prayer that such days will be few and far between. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -EPILOGUE -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<i>Extract from an English daily paper five years later.</i> -</p> - -<p> -"Special mention should be made of the amazing -exhibition of prowess on the part of Lieutenant -Stephens in yesterday's military aeronautic -manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain. His aeroplane, the -combined creation of his father and himself, is of -such perfect construction that it is likely to make -their name famous, and the Lieutenant's command -of it left nothing to be desired. He executed -feats of skill which have rarely been surpassed. -England has just cause for pride in her present race -of young men, prepared to face every danger in the -service of their country, for it is an open secret -that upon the efficiency of our air fleet, the future -safety of our island home will very largely depend." -</p> - -<p> -This paper, with others, was forwarded in due -time to Mrs. Kenyon, who read aloud the paragraph -just quoted to Eva, now a blooming girl of seventeen. -She flew round the table and snatched it from -her mother's hands. -</p> - -<p> -"Let me read it for myself, mother. We shall -all feel proud of him. He's playing our childish -game of subduing giants to some purpose, isn't -he? He's fairly earned his rights to his title of -'Jack, the Englishman.' I'm ever so glad. I'll -run across to the farm and tell them about it." -</p> - -<p> -Clarissa laughed at the girl's enthusiasm. -</p> - -<p> -"They are perfectly certain to have these papers -as well as ourselves. Isn't he their grandson?" -</p> - -<p> -"And a grandson to be proud of! I wish he were -mine, or a brother or something. Oh mother! -I wonder—Shall we ever see him again?" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Jack the Englishman, by H. 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