“And yet, Jeff,” said the captain, sitting down beside him, “you and I thought these events—the wreck, and the loss of employment, and the overturning o’ the lifeboat, and the thump on the ribs, and the long illness—nothing but misfortunes and full of evil at first. There,—I’m not goin’ to draw no moral. I never was good at that. Come, now, if you’ve rested enough, we’ll up anchor and away. I’ve got a dog-cart beatin’ off an’ on round the p’int there, an’ my Rosebud will be gettin’ impatient.”
This was true—Rose was becoming not only impatient but anxious. When, however, she saw her father and lover approach, all her anxieties vanished.
Chapter Eight.
Conclusion of the Whole Matter.
The wonder-working power of Time is proverbial. Behold Jeffrey Benson once again, looking like his old self, at the hospitable board of Miss Millet. It is an occasion of importance. Opposite to her sits her brother. Jeff is on her right hand. On the left sits Rose—prettier, brighter, and more womanly than ever. A gold circlet on one of the fingers of her left hand proclaims a great fact. A happy smile on her face proves that her confidence has not been misplaced.
Jeff is nearly as stout and strong as he ever was; of his severe illness scarcely a trace remains. The doctor does not know what it was, and it is not to be expected that we should know. Sufficient for us to state the fact that it is gone.
But our hero is not now a coastguardsman. Listen, and the captain will explain why.
“Molly, my dear, another cup of your superb tea, to web my whistle before I begin. It ought to be good, for I know the man that grew it, and the firm through which it came. Well, now, both you and Rosebud will nat’rally want to know about the situation which I’ve obtained for Jeff. You’ll be surprised to hear that he is now Secretary of State to King Richard Longpurse.”