a shining track across the sea, till the light that
went with Him sank like a star upon the verge. Then in his dream David
was troubled, and knew not how to follow; till he thought that it might
be given him, as it was given once to Peter, to walk dry-shod over the
depth; but when he set foot upon the water there broke so furious a wave
at him, that he knew not how to follow. So he went back and kneeled upon
the sand, and said aloud in his doubt, "What shall I do, Lord?" and as
the words sounded on his tongue he awoke.

Then all that day he pondered how he should find the Lord; for he knew
that though he had a hope in his heart, and though he leaned much upon
God, yet he had not wholly found him yet. God was sometimes with him and
near to him, but sometimes far withdrawn; and then, for he was a very
simple man, he said in himself, "I will give myself wholly to the search
for my Lord. I will live solitary, and I will fix my mind upon Him"; for
he thought within himself that his hard life, and the cares of the
household in which he had dwelt, had been what had perhaps kept him
outside; and therefore he thought that God had taken these cares away
from him. And so he made up his mind.

Then he cast about where he had best dwell; and he thought of the Isles
of Sunset as a lonely place, where he might live and not be disturbed.
There was the little cave high up in the rock-face, looking towards the
land, to which he had once scrambled up. This would give him shelter;
and there were moreover some small patches of earth, near the base of
the rock, where he could grow a few herbs and a little corn. He had some
money of his own, which would keep him until his garden was grown up;
and he could fish, he thought, from the rocks, and find shell-fish and
other creatures of the sea, which would give him meat.

So the next day he bought a few tools that he thought he would need, and
rowed all over when it was dusk. He put his small stores in a cave by
the water's edge. The day after, he went and made a few farewells; he
told no one where he was going; but it pleased him to find a little love
for him in the hearts of some. One parting was a strangely sore one:
there was an old and poor woman that lived very meanly in the place, who
had an only granddaughter, a little maid. These two he loved very much,
and had often done them small kindnesses. He kept this good-bye to the
last, and went to the house after sundown. The old woman bade him