“God be thanked for that same!” said Brother Bart, reverently. “My heart has been nearly leaping out of my breast this last half hour. And you weren’t over-easy about them yourself, as I could see, Jeroboam.”
“Wall, I’m glad to see the younkers safe back, I must say,” agreed Captain Jeb, in frank relief. “Thar was nothing to skeer about when they started this morning, but that bank of cloud wasn’t in sight then. My but it come up sudden! It fairly took my breath when Neb pointed it out to me. That ar marline spike didn’t hurt his weather eye. ‘Hurricane,’ he says to me; ‘straight up from the West Indies, and them boys is out!’ I tell you it did give me a turn—aye, aye matey!” as Dan came hurrying up the beach. “Ye made it all right again wind an’ tide—but where’s the other?”
“Laddie,—my laddie!” cried Brother Bart, his ruddy face paling. “Speak up, Dan Dolan! Has harm come to him?”
“No, no, no!” answered Dan eagerly, “no harm at all, Brother Bart. He is safe and sound. Don’t scare, Brother Bart.” And then as briefly as he could Dan told the adventure of the morning.
“And you left laddie, that lone innocent, with a dying man?” said Brother Bart. “Sure it will frighten the life out of him!”
“No, it won’t,” replied Dan. “Freddy isn’t the baby you think, Brother Bart. He’s got lots of sand. He was ready and willing to stay. We couldn’t leave the poor man there alone with the dogs.”
“Sure you couldn’t,—you couldn’t,” said the good Brother, his tone softening. “But laddie—little laddie,—that never saw sickness or death! Send off the other boys for the doctor, Jeroboam, and the priest as well, while Dan and I go back for laddie.”
But Captain Jeroboam, who was watching the horizon with a wide-awake weather eye, shook his head.
“You can’t, Padre,—you can’t. Not even the ‘Lady Jane’ could make it agin what’s coming on now. If the boy is on dry land, you’ll have to trust him to the Lord.”
“Oh, no, no!” answered the good Brother, forgetting what he said, in his solicitude. “I’ll go for him myself. Give us your boat, man, and Dan and I will go for laddie.”