l, hey?--and a couple of tackles.
You leave it to we, sir."

He went off to turn over the gear salved from his vessel, and early
next forenoon had the apparatus rigged up and ready. He was obliged
to leave it at this point, having been summoned across to Falmouth to
report to his agents. His last words, before starting were addressed
to his crew. "I reckon you can fix it now, boys. There's only one
thing more, and don't you forget it: Hats off; and any man that wants
to spit must go outside."

That afternoon Taffy learnt for the first time what could be done
with a few ropes and pulleys. The seamen seemed to spin ropes out of
themselves like spiders. By three o'clock the beam was hoisted and
fixed; and they broke off their work to attend their shipmates'
funeral. After the funeral they fell to again, though more silently,
and before nightfall the beam shone with a new coat of varnish.

They left early next morning, after a good deal of handshaking, and
Taffy looked after them wistfully as they turned to wave their caps
and trudged away over the rise towards the cross-roads. Away to the
left in the wintry sunshine a speck of scarlet caught his eye against
the blue-grey of the towans. He watched it as it came slowly towards
him, and his heart leapt--yet not quite as he had expected it to
leap.

For it was George Vyell. George had lately been promoted to "pink"
and made a gallant figure on his strapping grey hunter. For the
first time Taffy felt ashamed of his working-suit, and would have
slipped back to the church. But George had seen him, and pulled up.

"Hullo!" said he.

"Hullo!" said Taffy; and, absurdly enough, could find no more to say.

"How are you getting on?"

"Oh, I'm all right." There was another pause. "How's Honoria?"

"Oh, she's all right. I'm riding over there now: they meet at
Tredinnis to-day." He tapped his boot with his hunting crop.

"Don't you have any lessons now?" asked Taffy, after a while.

"Dear me, yes; I've got a tutor. He's no good at it. But what made
you ask?"

Really Taffy could not tell. He had asked merely for the sake of
saying something. George pulled out a gold watch.

"I must be getting on. Well, good-bye!"

"Good-bye!"

And that was all.

CHAPTER XV.

TAFFY'S APPRENTICESHIP.

They could manage the carpentering now. And Jacky Pascoe, who, in
addition to his other trades, was something of a glazier, had taken
the damaged east window