nd can gaze far away
to the faint sea-line dissolving into the sky.

How calm it is! Beautiful, infinite sea, suggesting thoughts of voyages
into unknown climes; of delightful secrets, yet unfathomed; of that
enchanting "by-and-by" which is the children's Promised Land! The boy
and girl are quiet for a time, dreaming their tranquil little dreams in
the silence of utter satisfaction, while the waves wash the beach with
the old lulling sound, and the rock-shadows are slowly lengthening on
the sand.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Drake, the fisherman's wife, is busy with her
preparations indoors. The cottage stands in a sheltered nook, a wooden
dwelling, coated with tar, with nets hanging outside its walls, and a
doorstep as white as snow. A few hardy geraniums in pots brighten the
windows, but garden there is and can be none; the pebbly shore must
serve the children as a playground. Rosy cheeks and sound lungs give
proof that the little Drakes are thriving in their seaside home; and the
youngest, a baby of two, lies placidly sucking its thumb on the sunny
beach.

The boat containing Aunt Hetty and her party nears the landing, and just
for one second Claude's brow darkens again. A sturdy lad is pulling
strong strokes, with arms that seem almost as strong as Drake's; and the
lad has a merry brown face and black curly hair, and wears a scarlet cap
set jauntily on his head. It is Tim Crooke, looking provokingly at his
ease among his aristocratic friends, and quite prepared to enjoy
himself.

Aunt Hetty, gentlest and kindest of elderly ladies, is assisted to land
by the clergyman; while Tim takes up Dolly in his strong arms and places
her safely on the shore. And then they all make for the cottage, Bee
lingering in the rear with Claude, and winning him back to good-humour
with a pleading look from the sunny blue eyes.

Surely this tea in the fisherman's kitchen is a banquet fit for the
gods! It is a happy, hungry group that gathers round the deal table;
Bee, doing the honours, pours out tea, and has a great deal of business
on her hands; Aunt Hetty, at the other end of the board, keeps anxious
watch over Dolly, who consumes prawns with frightful rapidity; Tim
Crooke beams on everybody and ministers to the wants of everybody, like
the good-natured fellow that he is. And Claude, true to his unuttered
promise, is kind to Tim in a pleasant, natural way.

At length the meal comes to an end; lobster, prawns, and crab are all
demolished! a