“I knew how Mr Falconer felt when he told me that he must continue on board the Harmony, though he trusted on his arrival in England to be able to obtain the command of a ship in which he might return here. Since then no letter from him has reached me, nor have I received any tidings of him. Still I feel perfect confidence that he is faithful and true, and that he will return as soon as he can find the means of doing so.”
I felt very sorry when I heard the latter part of Miss Kitty’s narrative; for while I fully agreed with her that Mr Falconer would return if he could, I feared that, had he not lost his life, he might have been wrecked or taken prisoner, or detained somewhere by illness.
As Mr Newton afterwards observed to me, he had never seen any woman who was so thoroughly sustained under a great trial by her confidence in the man to whom she had given her heart, and her perfect trust that all was ordered by God for the best.
Chapter Eighteen.
On Stilts.
I felt very sorry at the thought of leaving Miss Kitty, and would gladly have remained with her and Mr and Mrs Newton, but Dick would not hear of my doing so; and Captain Renton insisted that I should return home with him, and go to school and obtain that instruction which I certainly greatly required.
“We will take good care of the young lady, Charley,” said Mr Newton; “and should you meet with Mr Falconer, tell him that she is still as well cared for as at first.”
Once more the Phoebe was at sea. Captain Renton gave me a berth in his cabin, and took so much pains to instruct me, that before the voyage was over I had made good progress in various branches of knowledge.