The Captain's Bunk Part 14

'No, granny, never, never will I stir out o' Northbourne, now I've had the luck to get back to it!' ended Ned, after relating his adventures in his absence.

'Not even if so be as they can't find the North Pole without 'ee to help 'em, eh, my lad?' asked granny slyly, across the supper-table.

The old woman had much ado to hide her joy over Ned's return.

Ned coloured, and hung his head abashed. 'Oh, well, I expec' they can manage without me and Muster Alick!' he stammered at last.

'That's true enough! Depend upon it, Ned, if the Lord needs you, He will shape the way for you, plain as plain. Meantime, it looks as if He meant you to bide here, seein' as how in His goodness He has bringed you back to us. And you just try to remember all your life through, my lad, what the Book tells us--that "G.o.dliness with contentment is great gain."'

It is a year ago exactly since 'The Theodora' sank to the bottom of the blue waters in the bay where she still lies. Time has wrought and brought many changes in Northbourne, as time will. Over at the Vicarage is the greatest change, for the good old parson has gone home to--

That sweet and blessed country That eager hearts expect';

and his frail, ailing widow has been taken away to dwell with distant relatives. But Binks, under a new master, is still the handy-man; while Splutters and Shutters have become sedate members of society, for their new proprietor is Philip Price, than whom few know better the true secret of ruling.

Yes, the young tutor is now restored to health and strength. The fine Northbourne air, the restfulness of country life, and G.o.d's goodness, have combined to set up Philip Price as a robust man. He had been ailing so long in the old days, that he had got well-nigh accustomed to being a semi-invalid. But, nowadays, he has become so strong that he has forgotten what ailing means--in his own person that is, for he is a man of keen sympathies with all concerning his fellow-men.

With renewed health he had thrown himself more vigorously than ever into his work of teaching; but other things were in store for him.

On Mr. Vesey's unexpected death, the living of Northbourne was vacant, of course. Philip Price did not dream of more than a fleeting wish than it might have fallen to himself.

Other people, however, went a step further than wishing. The captain, it so happened, was a cousin of the patron of the parish. With all his energy he set about procuring the living for one to whom he would ever feel bound by ties of grat.i.tude.

'If he be a thorough gentleman, a Christian through and through, and an honourable man, why--let him have it!' said the patron testily. This unexpected compliance was so astounding that the old sailor felt thrown back on himself, as it were, and returned slightly bewildered by his own success.

In due time the new vicar and his mother, two proud and happy people, settled down in the Vicarage house which stares across the bay at the Bunk.

In the Carnegys' home the only changes are most happy ones. Since the captain gave up allowing his hobby to be his master, and has taken a keener interest in his boys' and girls' daily life, all things are brighter at the Bunk. The old naval officer is never happier than when on the water with his family-crew, and has presented each of his boys with a canoe, to the pride and glory of not only themselves, but the entire fishing community.

Theo still pulls Queenie and Queenie's ever-increasing doll-family about the bay, but in a new 'Theodora.' But the tall, sweet-faced sister, of whom the Carnegy boys are so proud, seldom rows across to the Vicarage nowadays. Some folk wonder why. Others, who are wiser, smile and say that perhaps 'Miss Theedory' will go across some day and land for life at the Vicarage. And less likely things have happened.

Indeed, Jerry Blunt is engaged in training a young bullfinch as a wedding-present, though n.o.body can induce him to say for whom. But people cannot help shrewdly guessing, when they remember that Theo gave away the first bird-singer Jerry presented to her to Mrs. Vesey, as a Northbourne keepsake, when she left the Vicarage.

And the Carnegy boys?

Well, they are making the most of their freedom this summer, as next term they set out on a public-school career. They have not been idle this past year, and Philip Price knows they will not disgrace him when confronted with more strict examiners than himself. Alick, in particular, has been diligent, and being endowed with plenty of brains, his father and Theo are full of hope regarding his future.

Better still, Alick's heart is a changed one. By G.o.d's grace his footsteps are set in the right path. No more rebellious outbursts will there be against those whom the will of G.o.d has set over him. A sharp lesson taught him the world's cruel hardness to the defenceless, and showed the true value of a good father and a pure home.

Geoff, ready as ever to take his colour from his surroundings, has been treading steadily on his altered brother's heels in the 'narrow way.'

And now our sojourn in breezy little Northbourne is over, and we must say farewell to its fisher-folk. Some of us may, perchance, meet the Carnegy boys on life's journey; who can say? But the stay-at-homes--the stalwart, active Ned Dempster, now one of Fletcher's boat-crew; the bird-trainer, Jerry Blunt; the families of the Bunk and the Vicarage,--to one and all we must say good-bye, which is 'G.o.d be with them!'

THE END

EVERY BOY'S BOOKSHELF.

Frank Lester's Fortunes. By Frederick Arnold.

A Boy's Adventures Round the World, By John Andrew Higginson.

In Mortal Peril: A Story of the Great Armada. By E. E. Crake.

Bush Luck. By W. H. Timperley.

Schooldays at Highfield House. By A. N. Malan.

Under Fire. By H. Frederick Charles.

The Young Nor'-Wester. By J. Macdonald Oxley.

THE BOY'S LIBRARY OF ADVENTURE & HEROISM.

ALLAN ADAIR; or Here and There in Many Lands. By Dr. GORDON STABLES, R.N., author of "In the Land of the Lion and the Ostrich." With Ten Ill.u.s.trations by ALFRED PEa.r.s.e.

A HERO IN WOLF-SKIN. A Story of Pagan and Christian. By TOM BEVAN.

With Seven Ill.u.s.trations by J. FINNEMORE, R.I.

THE ADVENTURES OF VAL DAINTRY IN THE GRAECO-TURKISH WAR. By V. L.

GOING. With Seven Ill.u.s.trations by FRANK FELLER.

THE HEROES OF MOSS HALL SCHOOL. By E. C. KENYON, author of "Little Robin Grey," etc. With Seven Ill.u.s.trations by ALFRED PEa.r.s.e.

THE LOST EARLDOM: A Tale of Scotland's Reign of Terror. By CYRIL GREY, author of "For Crown and Covenant." With Three Ill.u.s.trations by RAYMOND POTTER.

A TROOPER OF THE FINNS: A Tale of the Thirty Years' War. By TOM BEVAN, author of "A Hero in Wolf-skin," etc., etc. With Three Ill.u.s.trations by J. FINNEMORE, R.I.

WILD LIFE IN SUNNY LANDS. A Romance of b.u.t.terfly Hunting. By GORDON STABLES, M.D., R.N., author of "The Sh.e.l.l Hunters." With Seven Ill.u.s.trations by ALFRED PEa.r.s.e.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BLUE VEGA. By GORDON STABLES, M.D., R.N. With Six Ill.u.s.trations by ALFRED PEa.r.s.e.

COMRADES UNDER CANVAS. A Story of Boys' Brigade Life. By FREDERICK P.

GIBBON. With Seven Ill.u.s.trations by ALFRED PEa.r.s.e.

BOB MARCHANT'S SCHOLARSHIP. By ERNEST PROTHEROE. With Seven Ill.u.s.trations by ALFRED PEa.r.s.e.

THE BOY SETTLER; or, The Adventures of Sydney Bartlett. By H. C.

STORER. With Three Ill.u.s.trations by J. FINNEMORE, R.I.