Chapter XVI: Safely Back to England

There are such things as happy ships still in the merchant service of this country, in which the crew are all, or nearly all, British men, and the captain and mate honest fellows and not tyrants. English or Scotch sailors work well for officers like these, and a bad word is never heard on the ship's decks.

The _Nor'lan' Star_ had scarcely changed a hand of her crew for several years. They were like a family in fact. Every one knew his duty and did it. When any dispeace occurred the matter was brought before the captain--of course his word was law; and if there existed a malcontent on board he was very speedily got rid of, for a tainted sheep affects a flock.

But, somehow, when a captain takes his wife with him the whole tone of a ship is raised many degrees. But, over and above all this, Captain Paterson owned the ship, or most of her, for the mate and some others had shares, and this arrangement caused things to pull together better. This honest skipper was a good example of what industry and carefulness in business can accomplish, and love with honour, I may add; for he would have told you that the best thing ever he did was marrying Maggie, and taking her to sea with him.

Well, the _Nor'lan' Star_ reached Trondhjem at last; and as the men were not drunkards, but knew how to use without abusing God's gifts, every man settled to work, and with the help of dockmen the unloading and the loading-up again proceeded regularly and peacefully enough, and was all over in a week. Then the orders were to clean ship before the granting of a few days' leave off and on to the watches. In a very short time all signs of the loading-up were obliterated, and from stem to stern the _Nor'lan' Star_ looked as sweet and clean as a new half-crown.

Ben and the mate had been very busy up till now, but Mrs Skipper had taken Lotty on shore several times. The town, with its great cathedral, was in its winter garb; but they found the streets regular and wide, and even pretty, the older houses being of wood, plain in architecture, but very quaint. There were many fine shops too, and the people therein were kindly in the extreme. Everything here, especially about the suburbs, was very strange and foreign-like, but with none of the fussiness found in French ports, where it is mostly all palaver and insincerity. All her life at present was what, in the case of busy men who have been laid aside for a time by illness, doctors call 'an enforced holiday.' But it was a very delightful and restful one. She was free for a time from the drudgery of show-work, of having to sing and act to crowds of gaping rustics and others; free from the bullying and ill-treatment of her father, Biffins Lee. She only wished that Wallace had been with her now. As for the others--well, they would like her better when she came back from a watery grave, or, more plainly, when the sea gave up the one they all believed dead and gone.

But Wallace, what fun he would have had with little baby Norlans, and how he would have rolled him up and down the deck, but gone to sleep afterwards with the sealkin in his arms, like the good dog he was! A tub, both she and Mrs Skipper admitted, was an awkward and somewhat unsightly cot for the sealkin, so they had a look round the toy-shops, and at one they found an assortment of dolls as big as the baby-children of Anak must have been.

The shop-mistress curtsied and smiled, and felt certain the young lady would buy one. She raised a garishly dressed specimen as she spoke, which was half-doll, half-golliwog, and hideously ugly. But Lotty was not impressed. She was too old, she said, for dolls like that; but had the good woman bassinets for these?

'Oh yes,' she had, 'lovely little cradles, with rockers and all. Look!'

Lotty did look, and was delighted. These were just the thing for Norlans. How sweet he would show in one of these, with its tiny cushion, its muslin drapery, and its blanket of blue! And so one was bought and sent on board. That night Norlans was put to bed in it. Lotty sat down and rocked her baby; and as she rocked she sang a pretty cradle hymn:

'Baloo, baloo, my wee wee thing,
Oh, softly close thy blinkin' e'e;
Baloo, baloo, my dear wee thing,
Now thou art doubly dear to me.
Thy face is simple, sweet, and mild,
Like ony simmer evenin' fa';
Thy sparklin' e'e is bonny black,
Thy neck is like the mountain snaw.
Baloo, baloo, baloo.'

And baby Norlans was willing to give himself up entirely to the luxury of the situation, and was soon sound enough asleep.

Then daddy Ben was called in--he had to walk on tiptoe--to take just one peep at him.

'Isn't he just lovelier than anything on earth, papa?' said Lotty.

'Lovelier,' replied Ben, 'than biled cockles, and every bit as white and clean.'

A day or two after this Lotty ran on deck when Ben was hung up as usual on a belaying-pin, the ship having been put to sea again, and it being the lad's watch off.

'Oh papa,' she cried, pretending to be awfully excited, 'you are to run down below at once. Grandma says Norlans has cut a "toofams."'

Of course a 'toofams' meant a tooth; and Ben, keeping up the game, went below at once and found it was the truth, and was wise enough to go into raptures over the pearly little appearance.

But, happy though his home was, it was evident enough that the sealkin retained a good deal of nature about him, and would fain have obeyed the call of the wild, and plunged right away down into the clear sunny sea, a blink of which he could catch through one of the scupper-holes on the lee side. And always now, when taken on deck for what Lotty termed his constitutional, it was towards a lee scupper-hole he crawled or waddled his way, and seemed never to tire watching the waves. Sometimes when there was a freshening breeze, with plenty of sail on her, the sea would gurgle up as she dipped to leeward, and some portion would be under water. Then Norlans spread his flippers at once and made pretence to swim, and had to be taken away to be towelled and placed in the sunshine to dry.

It was about this time that Mrs Skipper had a quiet talk with her husband, and told him about those curious birth-marks, and what she half-suspected, and what she was going to do about it. Even the mate was taken into confidence and his advice asked. But he had not much to give. He really was both innocent and good, but knew more about handling a ship than anything else.

'Seems to me, Mrs Captain,' this was all he said, 'as how it is a 'tarposition o' Providence from first to last. And He--the great Power above us all--does move in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.'

'Well,' said Mrs Paterson, 'you are both men-people and have your reason to guide you. I am only a woman-person, and have merely my instinct; but, Providence here or Providence there, something tells me that a great wrong has been done to that dear child, and mebbe we may be put in the way to redress it.'

'That is,' said the mate solemnly, 'if your suspeecions is right, Mrs Captain. If they's wrong, then'----

'Well, then, of course, there will be no harm done, only we must take good care to say nothing to Lotty one way or another till we see.'

'That's right, that _is_ right, Mrs Captain; and I'm truly glad I've given you good advice, which I hope you won't be above thinking over.'

As the honest mate had given no advice, one way nor another, it certainly would not take very long to think it over.

That was a somewhat rough and stormy passage homewards; but the wind was for the most part fair, and under such circumstances she 'skeeted' along like a water-witch, and in due time the cliffs of Old England hove in sight far off on the lee-bow, lying along like a gray cloud on the horizon.

Lotty could scarcely believe she was so near, for the voyage out had been a lengthy one, and so many things had happened since she was picked up by the _Nor'larn' Star_ that she felt quite a year older at the very least.

That last evening the boy Ben was very sad indeed.

'Which,' he said to Lotty, 'we've 'ad a 'igh old time of it, missie; but lor! it's gone now, and we'll maybe never see ye in life again--no, nor Norlans either.'

'Oh,' said Lotty, with an attempt at good-humour, 'Norlans will be a big boy before he sees his papa again. I'm going to take him to camp, and some day, perhaps, his daddy will come right away down to see him, and his mammy also.'

'Am just a-goin' to live an' dream about that day, Miss Lotty; an' who knows but that when I'm a capting of a big ship you may not sail along o' me again.'

'Who knows?' answered the gipsy lass.

And the last thing the girl saw as she left by the gangway, which led over several vessels before she could reach the quay, was second-mate Ben gazing sorrowfully after her. There were tears in his eyes, too, that he had no need to be ashamed of.

And there was more than he looked after the little gipsy lass, and waved her a hearty good-bye, for her presence on board had really brought light and joy to many a man of the _Nor'lan' Star_.

There was nothing at present to keep Mrs Captain Paterson on the vessel, so she went with Lotty back home to her house in the outskirts. About all Lotty's luggage was Norlans in the bassinet, and that had been sent on before by a trusty messenger. There was a beautiful garden here, but just exactly what Norlans thought of it may never be recorded; for he was to be taken to the camp anyhow, and would be more at home within sound of the sea.

* * * * *

Just two days after this, Frank Antony Blake received a letter, and was a very happy man. It enclosed a note for Mr Biffins Lee. The letter to Antony was quite a girl's, round-hand, language, and all; but so innocent, for it gave Antony orders which he was to pass on to Mary, with a detailed list of the articles of clothing she was to forward to care of Captain Paterson of the bark _Nor'lan' Star_, Hull, and the amount of money Mary was to ask Biffins for and send with the things.

It is needless to say there was joy now in the camp, and somehow it seemed to communicate itself even to Wallace the Newfoundland. We never know just how much a dog understands. Mary was daft with delight. Chops was 'blubbering'--an ugly word; but it was one of the fat boy's own, and when interpreted means 'weeping.' For it is not grief only which is capable of bringing salt tears to one's eyes.

Frank Antony Blake did not take long to make up his mind as to what he should do on this occasion. He thought, anyhow, that a railway journey would do him no harm; but really, when he arrived at last, and Lotty threw herself right into his arms to do a good cry, he thought it was the most natural thing in the world to fold her to his breast.

He did not like Hull, simply because he did not like cities; and so, after thanking, and more than thanking, the captain, his wife, and mate for all their kindness to Lotty, and hoping to meet them again, he took first-class tickets, and soon the fast train was bearing them back to the north, baby Norlans and all. He had wired to Crona to have Wallace at the cottage, and she had gone over on purpose to bring the faithful dog to her hut.

But no pen could portray the delight of this dear fellow when he was sent off with a rush and a run to meet Lotty and Antony slowly winding their way uphill to Crona's cottage.