"Do not think of that now," he said. "Do not trouble about the future till you are stronger. We will do all we can for you here, and you are welcome to remain as long as you please."
Mrs. Despard thanked him most gratefully; but he hurried away from her thanks, as though they made him uneasy.
Guy Hollys did not, like his sister, anticipate inconvenience or annoyance from the presence of these strangers in his home. He was a man of generous, kindly nature, and loved to give with a free hand. And although he did not do good from high and sacred motives, he was yet one who could never look on suffering unmoved, nor see others in want, without making an effort to relieve them.
[CHAPTER IV]
BERYL MAKES A REQUEST
TWO days later, the body of Louis Despard was committed to the earth. Little Coral had been told that the sea had robbed her of her father, and she cried heartily at the thought that she should see him no more. But she was too young to realise the greatness of her loss, and her tears, like most tears of childhood, were quickly dried. Every one was so kind to her, and petted her so freely, Beryl was such a delightful companion, and there were so many strange and pretty things to be seen in the new place in which she found herself, that the child's mind refused to dwell long on its grief.
But both the children shed tears as they stood by Mr. Hollys' side in the churchyard, and saw the coffin lowered into the cold, dark grave. It was a new, mysterious experience for Beryl.
She had heard and known of Death, but it had never come thus near to her before. It was as if a grim shadow had fallen across the sunshine of her life, and it seemed to her that now the coming days could not be so joyous as the past had been. Strange thoughts were working in the child's mind as she stood beside that open grave.
She listened with a dull, aching wonder to the words which the rector was reading, and wished that some one would explain them to her.
Soon the last words were uttered, and as the little crowd turned away, Mr. Hollys drew the children nearer to the grave, that they might drop into it the flowers they carried.