aight. Never mind about special training, just give him
something to steer by, and trust me he won't go far wrong.'

[Illustration: Chapter VI tailpiece]

[Illustration: Chapter VII headpiece]

CHAPTER VII

HERO AND HEROINES

'For though she meant to be brave and good,
When he played a hero's part,
Yet often the thought of the leg of wood
Hung heavy on her heart.'--A.

Well, Christmas time, like all good things, had to come to an end, and
so did the captain's stay at Oakfield. The village seemed very dull
for a while after he went. Nancy cried bitterly when she said good-bye
to him, and indeed so did Patty, and I fancy Betty shed a few tears in
Miss Jane's arbour, she ran away there in such a hurry after watching
the captain start, and came back with such red rings round her eyes.
Good-bye is a hard word at any time, and harder still in war time, when
it is overshadowed by that unspoken dread lest no future greeting
should come in which the parting may be forgotten. As for Godfrey,
when the captain was gone he went over to the Place and sat down in the
kitchen by the side of Kiah. Kiah would miss the captain more than any
one, but the worst part of the going to him was that he was not going
too.

'You and me, young master,' he said to Godfrey, as the child sat on a
low stool looking up at him, 'our orders is to bide in port. Only
you're fitting for a cruise, you see, sir, and I'm just a hulk that'll
never be seaworthy again. It don't become us to be asking questions
about our orders, we'd better just get to work and do what we can, so
I'll be off and chop a bit of firewood for Martha.'

'And I'll go home and learn my spelling,' said Godfrey.

And, indeed, he was back in the parlour and at work before Betty came
to look for him, on which she gave herself one of her indignant
scoldings, telling herself that Godfrey was ten times more fit to be
her bachelor uncle than she was to be his maiden aunt.

And so the little household at the cottage went back to the quiet life
in which Christmas had made such a pleasant break. Angel and Betty
read French and history together, and helped Penny in the kitchen, and
taught Godfrey, and walked with him, and mended for him and built
castles in the air for him when he was in bed and asleep; and Godfrey
learnt his lessons and played with Nancy, and spent all the time he
could with Kiah, and in the twilight sat crushed up between his aunts