“Oh, I forgot that! Oh, I wish you weren’t going away from home, Max!” she exclaimed. “I seem to grow fonder of you than ever when I think of that!”
“Yes, blessings brighten as they take their flight,” he returned, with a little laugh that sounded rather forced.
The new home made by his father for him and the others, and especially the being taken by that father into a close intimacy, friendship, and confidence, such as are seldom given by a parent to a son of his age, had been so delightful that the thought of going away among strangers, leaving all the dear ones behind, and having communication with his father only by letter, instead of the pleasant daily and hourly familiar intercourse, could not fail to cause the boyish heart a pang.
Yet, on the other hand, there was joy and exultation in the thought that he was about to enter upon special preparation for his chosen profession, the work that he was to do as a man; it seemed to him the beginning of the putting away of childish things, the putting on of the armor, and the gathering up of the weapons, for the great battle of life, and at times he was eager for the day when he should appear before the examiners at Annapolis.
“Yes, and you are a blessing to me, Maxie; you always have been,” Lulu said in reply. “And I am sure papa thinks you a very great one to him.”
The captain’s quick ear caught the words, and he glanced smilingly round at the two without pausing in his talk with his agent.
Mr. Short gave the names of the streets as they passed along, pointed out the public buildings and the prettiest private residences, telling to whom each one belonged, and sometimes adding a little character sketch in a humorous or slightly satirical vein. He seemed a good-natured, jovial sort of man, and anxious to entertain and amuse.
It did not take long to traverse the town, and having presently reached the outskirts, they ascended an eminence from whence might be obtained a bird’s-eye view of the whole place and its surroundings of valley and wooded hills.
They paused here to gaze upon the landscape spread out at their feet, and Lulu, stepping to her father’s side, quietly slipped her hand into his. His fingers closed affectionately over it, and he gave her a pleased, loving look, though he seemed to be listening attentively to something Mr. Short was saying about the mine.
“I must visit it to-morrow, if the weather is favorable,” the captain said in reply. “I want to take my children with me, and as I expect to be in the vicinity for several weeks, there is no special haste; no need of hurrying out there through a storm.”