"Let us pray for him," his wife said gently. "Let us ask God to take care of him when he will be far away from us!"
So husband and wife knelt down by the little bed, and commended their darling to their Father in Heaven; and though their hearts were still sore, they arose comforted.
"He is the child of many prayers," Mrs. Gidley said softly, as they quietly left the room, "and we must be content to place him in God's hands."
"It is harder for you than for me, Margaret," Captain Gidley replied tenderly. "Like so many other mothers out here, you have had to choose between husband and child. I trust we may not be separated from our dear boy long!"
[CHAPTER III]
DICK'S FIRST DAY IN ENGLAND
IT was a perfect evening towards the end of June, as Miss Warren sat at the sitting-room window of her brother's house at Holton, anxiously looking down the village street. Her busy fingers were employed in knitting a scarlet sock—one of a pair intended for the little great-nephew she was expecting that day. It was a favourite boast of Miss Warren's that she never allowed herself to be driven by time; so, when she had heard that Dick Gidley was really coming, she had immediately commenced to make preparations for his arrival, and had begun to knit socks for him at once.
"I do hope they'll fit," she thought. "I expect they will, for he's not likely to be bigger than most boys of his age. Poor little fellow! How he must have felt the parting with his parents!—and I know it must almost have broken his mother's heart! She was always of such an affectionate disposition!—Half-past five, I declare! I hope nothing has gone wrong!—Dear me; how foolish I am! The trains on this line are often late, and Theophilus never drives fast!"
Miss Warren was a little woman with a brisk manner, and a round face blooming with health and good-humour. Her trim figure was neatly attired in a grey alpaca gown, fastened at the throat with a big brooch which contained two twists of hair—her mother's and father's—whilst, depending from her neck, she wore a fine long gold chain, to which was attached the watch in her waist-belt.
Presently she laid down her knitting, and, rising from her seat, ventured to put her head outside the open window to get a better view of the street. No one was within sight, and not a sound was to be heard but the gentle murmur of the sea.