"Look here, my boy; Oscar is young, isn't he?"
"Only two, sir."
"And you love him?"
"Very, very much."
"Well, I have a deal more influence than I care to boast about. So, after you have passed through the Britannia, if you are appointed to a small ship, as you most likely will be, I'll see to it that Oscar and you shall not be parted."
Creggan's joy was so great that for a few moments he dared not trust himself to speak.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, sir!" he said at last; and then Oscar had an extra hug, for a load had been lifted off his master's mind.
While talking thus they did not observe a bank of rolling fog creeping gradually up the hillside.
Creggan saw the danger first and sprung to his feet.
"We must hurry, sir; it is a fearful thing to be lost in the mist all among the lonely mountains.