upon it, and still prodding ahead of him made a wide
circuit. The ice bent as he walked, but sea ice is tough, and may be
perfectly safe though it bends. And so Abel found it, for when he came
back he said "_Piovok"_ (it is good).

Bobby was wrapped well, and out he went with Jimmy for his first winter
frolic. A wonderful time they had, coasting down the steep bank and
shooting far out upon the ice, or running over the ice, with Bobby on
the sled and Jimmy hauling him, until at last, quite weary with the fun,
they returned to the cabin to play with the ivory dogs and sledge until
supper time.

After this Jimmy came often with his sled, and he and Bobby coasted the
steep bank or rolled and tumbled in the snow, or built miniature snow
_igloos_, while Bobby grew as tough and hardy as any little Eskimo boy
could have been, which was very much to the satisfaction, not only of
Mr. and Mrs. Abel, but of Skipper Ed, as well.

It was not long after the ice came that the missionary from Nain visited
them, and met Bobby for the first time. He was a tall, jolly man, and
made much of Bobby, asking many questions about the manner of Bobby's
coming.

"It is very strange," said he. "Shall I not take him, Abel, to the
Mission, and care for him there? You do not want a white child."

But there was such a protest from both Abel and his wife, who insisted
that Bobby was their own child, sent them by God, that the missionary
never again suggested taking him from them. When the mail left the
coast, however, the following summer, he wrote to England a full
description of the occurrence, and the fact of Bobby's rescue and
whereabouts was published far and wide in British papers, but no
inquiries ever came of it, and no one came to claim Bobby.

But we must not linger over this period of Bobby's life. When he was
five years of age Skipper Ed began his lessons, coming over to Abel
Zachariah's cabin as often as possible, for the purpose, and now and
again he would take Bobby to his own cabin to stop a day or two with him
and Jimmy.

He supplied Bobby with the books he needed, and Bobby studied hard and
learned quickly, and was fascinated with the work, for Skipper Ed had
the rare faculty of making study appear a pleasant game, and it was a
game which Bobby loved to play.

There was little else, indeed, to occupy his attention during long
winter evenings--no streets to play in, no parties, no theaters--and he
made more rapid progress th