CHAPTER XX
THE RESCUE—WELCOME HOME.
O joy! I see our mother’s face,
Our own delightful home;
And never more from it shall we,
Dear Annie, want to roam.
“In our last conversation we left Harry struggling in the water, and Ann standing on the wharf, screaming and crying very loud.
“Just then, a young man, who wore a short blue jacket, a checked shirt, and a shining hat on the back of his head, came along; and, seeing Ann’s distress and poor Harry’s situation, without saying one word, pulled off his jacket, and jumped into the water after him. By this time a good many other people had gathered around. The sailor soon came up, with Harry in his arms; but the little boy was very pale and cold.
“Some people carried them into a small house that smelt of rum and tobacco smoke. They asked the children their names, and where they lived. When they had told them, they said they should be sent home after awhile, but that Harry must first go to bed; for he shivered, and was still very cold. They wanted him to drink some rum, but he refused. So they carried him up into a little, dark room, and laid him in a dirty bed, and put some very heavy covering over him; and then went to get the children something to eat. Little Ann staid alongside of her brother’s bed, crying all the time. Soon the woman of the house came up stairs, bringing them some bread and butter, and crackers and cheese. But, although they had been so hungry before, they did not feel like eating then. They were sick and unhappy. It seemed to them as if they were a great way off from their own home. The people in whose house they were, were not at all like their dear papa and mamma. They talked very loud, and laughed a great deal, and used words which the children had never heard before. Ann said,