‘And a brave one,’ said Wal. ‘He’ll sleep a good many hours, I guess. I’ll go up to Sydney by the boat, and give what information I can about the wreck. I’ll hurry back as quickly as possible. If he asks for me, tell him I shall not be long away. Where’s the child?’
Mrs. Jessop, with her finger on her lips to ensure silence, noiselessly opened their bedroom door.
Fast asleep in his own bed Wal Jessop saw the child he had rescued from a cruel death. How calm and peaceful she lay; not a thought of trouble haunted her as she slept! One tiny hand peeped out from the coverlet, and Wal Jessop could not resist covering it with his large hand. The little one returned the pressure, but did not awake.
‘I wish she belonged to us,’ he said to his wife.
‘So do I,’ was her reply. ‘Who knows but what she may do, if she has lost her father and mother?’
‘We shall find out all about them when I return,’ he said. ‘Rest is what they want now, poor things. I’ll bring some clothes back for him. You can get the little one some when you go out. It will be a bit of fresh shopping for you,’ he added with a smile that brought the colour into his wife’s cheeks.
When Wal Jessop reached Sydney, he found everyone in a state of excitement about the wreck, so many different accounts having been given by irresponsible persons. But he did not stay to gratify mere idle curiosity. He went direct to the offices of the Marine Board, and gave all the evidence he could about the wreck of the Distant Shore. His story was listened to with rapt attention, for Wal Jessop was a man who could be depended upon in all he did or said.
At the conclusion of his story, Captain Fife, President of the Board, complimented him upon his bravery, and asked him to bring the youth he had rescued to the offices of the Board as soon as he was in a proper state to give his version of the disaster.
‘By the way, what sort of a lad is he, Jessop?’ asked Captain Fife.
‘If looks go for anything, he’s one of the right sort,’ said Wal; ‘and that he’s brave goes without saying, after what I have told you.’