face was bending over him. It was not North
Wind's, however; it was his mother's. He put out his arms to her and she
clasped him to her heart and burst out crying.

"What is the matter, mother?" cried Diamond.

"Oh, Diamond dear! You have been so ill!" she said.

"Why no, mother dear. I have only been at the back of the North Wind,"
returned Diamond.

"I thought you were dead," said his mother.

At that moment, the doctor came in. He drew his mother aside and told
her not to talk to Diamond. He must be kept as quiet as possible. And
indeed, Diamond felt very strange and weak. But he soon got better with
chicken broth and other nice things.

And it was a good thing that he could get well and strong again. For
since he had come to Sandwich, a sad thing had happened to his father.
Mr. Coleman, his father's employer, had failed in business. It had come
about in this way. Miss Coleman, who had looked so like North Wind that
night on which he had seen her having her long black hair combed beside
the fire, had a lover, a Mr. Evans. Now Mr. Evans was poor and felt
ashamed to marry Miss Coleman until he had made more money and could
live finely. This was a sort of false pride and it brought about great
trouble for them all.

For Mr. Coleman took Mr. Evans into partnership to help him along. As
soon as that happened, Mr. Evans began to urge Mr. Coleman to go into
business ventures which were not honest but in which they could make a
great deal of money. It was not so bad at first, but as they went on, it
became more and more dishonest.

They could not seem to get out of it, however, and get back to carrying
on their business in the right way. So North Wind had to take a hand and
teach them better. It was Mr. Coleman's ship she sank that night when
she carried Diamond into the cathedral to wait for her. In the one
boat-load of people which North Wind drove off to a desert island, was
Mr. Evans. He had gone along on the ship to manage the business. Now he
found that it would have been better to have been poor and stayed at
home to marry Miss Coleman than to be ship-wrecked and have to live on a
desert island because he longed so to be rich.

The loss of the ship ruined Mr. Coleman. He had to sell off his house
and his horses, old Diamond among them, and go and live in a poor little
house in a much less pleasant place. He had to begin again to work and
learn how much better it is to be honest and contented than to try to