in his pocket, and told never to return again.
His mother and little sister--I forgot to tell you the boys had a little
sister, who was ten years old at that time--nearly broke their hearts at
his going. But his father was very harsh, and told him if he ever came
back he would have him arrested and put into prison. It was not the loss
of the money which angered him. That was a comparatively small amount,
which he paid back to the bank and did not miss very much. It was the
thought that one of his boys had taken it."

"What was the little sister's name?" asked Jimmy.

"Well, let me see," said Skipper Ed. "We'll call her Mary."

"Did Bill ever go back?"

"No, he never went back."

"Where did he go?"

"Why, he went to a seaport town and shipped as a sailor, and after
knocking about the seas for a time he settled in a country much like
this where we live. He liked the wild country, where he could hunt and
fish, and where the people he met were true and honest, and helped each
other, instead of always trying to take advantage of one another."

"I'm glad he did that," declared Jimmy. "I wish he lived near us. I
don't think I'd like to live in a place like he came from, and I'm glad
Bobby came away from it."

"And the fishing and hunting are better here than where he came from,
too, Partner."

"I don't want to live where the fishin' and huntin' isn't fine, and it's
fine here."

"Aye, 'tis fine here, and many things are fine here. Destiny is the
Lord's will, and our destiny, Partner, is to live here and be as happy
as we can; and now Bobby has come, it seems to be his destiny too."

And so Jimmy had his story, and bedtime had arrived, and the two
partners went to bed to be lulled to sleep by the storm raging about
their cabin.

CHAPTER IV

OVER A CLIFF

The storm that lulled Skipper Ed and his little partner to sleep also
lulled Abel Zachariah and Mrs. Abel and Bobby to sleep. Bobby's new bed
was finished. It was half the width of Abel's and Mrs. Abel's bed, but
it was quite as long, for Bobby was to grow tall, and to become a big
and brave hunter. And, too, for present needs it must be of ample length
to permit Mrs. Abel to lie down by Bobby's side of nights while she
crooned him to sleep with her quaint Eskimo lullabies.

Abel had expended great care in his handicraft, and derived a vast deal
of satisfaction from the result. And when Mrs. Abel fitted the bunk with
a fine feather bed which she made