“‘Nevertheless,’ said the gentleman, ‘you shall have a more substantial reward than that.’
“So he took Valentine home, and treated him with the greatest kindness. He was served with rich food and the finest spiced wines, and fitted out with an elegant suit of clothes. Early the next morning, Valentine thanked the gentleman for his kindness.
“‘I go now,’ he said, ‘to find your son. Watch for me near the River. I may return soon, or I may be gone long, but when I return I will bring your son.’
“‘You are young,’ remarked the gentleman. ‘You are hopeful and brave. You imagine you can succeed where others have failed. But I fear not. My lost boy has been sought by men older than you, and quite as brave, but they have not found him.’
“‘Certainly, I may fail,’ Valentine replied. ‘If I depended on myself alone, I know I would fail. But I trust in Providence.’
“Valentine and the gentleman then went to the River—one to go in search of the lost child, and the other to watch and wait for the return. Valentine went to the water’s edge.
“‘Get a boat with a sail,’ whispered the River, lapping the sand at his feet. This was provided at once, for the gentleman was very wealthy, and then Valentine set out on his voyage. ‘Go back the way you came,’ said the River, ‘but keep out of the middle current. Let the wind fill your sails and carry you near the shore, on the right.’ With the River to direct him, Valentine sailed along with a light heart and a happy mind. For more than two hours he journeyed up the River, and it was not until the sun was low in the west that the River told him to lower the sails of his boat. This done, the River carried his boat gently ashore, and as it glided on the sand, he saw, near by, a boat, in which a little boy lay fast asleep. Without disturbing him, Valentine lifted the little fellow in his arms, and transferred him to the new boat, in which wraps, and cloaks, and food had been placed.
“It was easy to guess how the little boy had been lost. He had gone to play in a boat, which broke loose from its fastenings, and drifted slowly up the River in the eddies that play hide and seek near the bank. The first day the searchers searched for him, they went too far. The next day they searched too near, and so the child drifted and drifted, and was lost sure enough. He was very cold and wet when Valentine found him, but in a little while he was warmly wrapped in the cloaks that had been provided.
“‘Take his boat in tow,’ said the River. ‘Let your sails stay down, and take the oars and row home as hard as you can.’
“The River helped with its swift current, and it was not long before Valentine caught a glimpse of the bonfire that was burning at the landing to light him back to the city.