‘And here he is, with Edgar.’
Captain Manton came into the room. Eva looked at him for a few moments, evidently in doubt.
‘Eva, my child, my little one, don’t you know me? Come to my arms, my pet; come to daddy again.’
‘It is my daddy!’ said Eva, with a joyful cry, as she flew to him. ‘Eddy said he would come back. I shall never let him go away again—never, never, never!’
CHAPTER XXX.
GOOD-BYE TO AUSTRALIA.
How Captain Manton came to Sydney, and how he received a welcome of the heartiest description on all sides, is well known throughout the colony. His marvellous escape and subsequent adventures, and the strange discovery of him at Tana by Edgar Foster and Wal Jessop, have been related over and over again. His examination by the Marine Board was thoroughly satisfactory, and Captain Fife said no man could have done more than Captain Manton to save his ship.
The tall, commanding form of Captain Manton, and the pretty child accompanying him wherever he went, soon became familiar figures in the parks of Sydney. The big, stalwart seaman was wrapped up in his child, and his intense love for her was shown in every word and action.
They sat together for hours on the grassy slopes of the Botanical Gardens overlooking the harbour, and watched the big steamers pass to and fro, and the sailing vessels towed out from their snug berths to face the perils of an ocean voyage to some far-distant land. Those were halcyon days for little Eva Manton, and she often thought of them in after years, when the business of life had commenced for her in real earnest.
Leaving Captain Manton to rejoice in his new-found happiness, Edgar Foster took a trip out West to Yanda, in order to bid good-bye to his friends before finally departing for England.
They were all very pleased to see him at Yanda, and Ben Brody could not refrain from relating wonderful and improbable yarns about his experiences with Edgar in London.