called food, he would, when returning, manage to secure a
wild duck, perhaps, or a couple of sea magpies, or a few young gulls.
Nothing came amiss to the young Coombers at any time, and just now a
tough stringy gull was a dainty morsel.

It threatened to be an unusually hard and long winter, and at last Mrs.
Coomber ventured to suggest that Tiny should be taken to the poorhouse,
at least until the spring, when she could come back again.

"Look at her poor little white face," said the woman, with her apron to
her eyes; "I'm afraid she'll be ill soon, and then what can we do?"

"Time enough to talk about that when she is ill," said Coomber, gruffly,
as he took up his gun and went out. They were generally able to keep a
good fire of the drift-wood and wreckage that was washed ashore, for
unfortunately there was scarcely a week passed but some noble vessel
came to grief on the perilous bar sands during the more boisterous
weather. Once, when they were at their wits' end for food, and Bob had
begged his mother to boil some samphire for supper, Tiny was fortunate
enough to discover an unopened cask which the sea had cast up the night
before, and left high and dry behind the ridge of sandhills. She was not
long fetching Bob and the boys to see her treasure trove; all sorts of
wild speculations passing through her mind as to what it could contain
as she ran shouting--

"Bob! Bob! Dick! Dick! Come and see what I've found."

[Illustration: "'DICK, DICK, COME AND SEE WHAT I'VE FOUND.'" (_See page
96._)]

The boys were not long in making their appearance, and Bob fetched a
hatchet, and soon broke open the cask; and oh! what joy for the starving
children--it was full of ship biscuits!

"Oh, Dick, didn't I tell you this morning God hadn't forgotten us?" said
Tiny, in a quavering voice, when Bob announced what the cask contained.

"Oh, yes," said Dick, "so you did;" but he was too hungry to think of
anything but the biscuits now--too hungry even to shout his joy, as he
would have done at another time. As soon as they could be got at, he
handed one to Tiny, and then Tom and Dick helped themselves, filling
their pockets and munching them at the same time; but Tiny, though she
nibbled her biscuit as she went, ran at once to tell Mrs. Coomber of her
wonderful discovery; and she, scarcely daring to believe that such good
news could be true, ran out at once to see for herself, and met the
boys, who confirmed Tiny's tale. But she mu