ld were
more or less at stake. When Mrs. Stonehouse would say:

'There, darling! You must be careful not to annoy the gentleman,' Pearl
would turn a rosy all-commanding face to her and answer:

'But, mother, I want him to play with me. You must play with me!' Then,
as the mother would look at him, he would say quickly, and with genuine
heartiness too:

'Oh please, madam, do let her play with me! Come, Pearl, shall you ride
a cock-horse or go to market the way the gentleman rides?' Then the
child would spring on his knee with a cry of delight, and their games
began.

The presence of the child and her loving ways were unutterably sweet to
Harold; but his pleasure was always followed by a pain that rent him as
he thought of that other little one, now so far away, and of those times
that seemed so long since gone.

But the child never relaxed in her efforts to please; and in the long
hours of the sea voyage the friendship between her and the man grew, and
grew. He was the biggest and strongest and therefore most lovely thing
on board the ship, and that sufficed her. As for him, the child
manifestly loved and trusted him, and that was all-in-all to his weary,
desolate heart.

The fifth day out the weather began to change; the waves grew more and
more mountainous as the day wore on and the ship advanced west. Not even
the great bulk and weight of the ship, which ordinarily drove through the
seas without pitch or roll, were proof against waves so gigantic. Then
the wind grew fiercer and fiercer, coming in roaring squalls from the
south-west. Most of those on board were alarmed, for the great waves
were dreadful to see, and the sound of the wind was a trumpet-call to
fear.

The sick stayed in their cabins; the rest found an interest if not a
pleasure on deck. Among the latter were the Stonehouses, who were old
travellers. Even Pearl had already had more sea-voyages than fall to
most people in their lives. As for Harold, the storm seemed to come
quite naturally to him and he paced the deck like a ship-master.

It was fortunate for the passengers that most of them had at this period
of the voyage got their sea legs; otherwise walking on the slippery deck,
that seemed to heave as the rolling of the vessel threw its slopes up or
down, would have been impossible. Pearl was, like most children, pretty
sure-footed; holding fast to Harold's hand she managed to move about
ceaselessly. She absolutely refused to