. But Miss Martha could, by the exercise of some rare
power, spell out her brother's hand, though not without much difficulty.

"I'm coming," shouted Miss Martha.

"Be quick!" screamed Miss Jane.

In a few seconds Miss Martha entered the room with her cap and collar,
though faultlessly clean and stiff, put on very much awry.

"Give it me! Where is it?"

Miss Jane pointed to the letter, still remaining transfixed to the spot
where her eye had first met it, as if it were some dangerous animal
which would bite if she touched it.

Miss Martha snatched it up, tore it open, and flopped down on the sofa.
Miss Jane snatched up an imaginary letter, tore it open (in
imagination), and flopping down beside her sister, looked over her
shoulder, apparently to make believe to herself that she read it along
with her. Thus they read and commented on the captain's letter in
concert.

"`Table Bay'--dear me! what a funny bay that must be--`My dearest
Sisters'--the darling fellow, he always begins that way, don't he, Jane
dear?"

"Bless him! he does, Martha dear."

"`We've been all'--I can't make this word out, can you, dear?"

"No, love."

"`We've been all-worked!' No, it can't be that. Stay, `We've been all
_wrecked_!'"

Here Martha laid down the letter with a look of horror, and Jane, with a
face of ashy paleness, exclaimed, "Then they're lost!"

"But no," cried Martha, "George could not have written to us from
Tablecloth Bay had he been lost."

"Neither he could!" exclaimed Jane, eagerly.

Under the influence of the revulsion of feeling this caused, Martha
burst into tears and Jane into laughter. Immediately after, Jane wept
and Martha laughed; then they both laughed and cried together, after
which they felt for their pocket-handkerchiefs, and discovered that in
their haste they had forgotten them; so they had to call the
servant-girl and send her up-stairs for them; and when the handkerchiefs
were brought, they had to be unfolded before the sisters could dry their
eyes.

When they had done so, and were somewhat composed, they went on with the
reading of the letter.

"`We've been all wrecked'--Dreadful--`and the poor _Red Angel_'"--"Oh!
it can't be that, Martha dear!"

"Indeed, it looks very like it, Jane darling. Oh! I see; it's
_Eric_--`and the poor _Red Eric_ has been patched,' or--`pitched on a
rock and smashed to sticks and stivers'--Dear me! what can that be? I
know what `sticks' are, but I can't