"Oh," cried little Jacob, "if I want it! I think it is the—most—beautiful—thing I ever saw. I can't thank you enough."
You should have seen the old sailor's face when little Jacob said that. The crinkles were so deep that you could hardly have seen his eyes.
"To see your face now is thanks enough for me," he said.
"But—but," said little Jacob, "Sol hasn't got anything half so pretty as this."
"Never you mind about Sol," said the old man, in a whisper that Sol could hear perfectly well. "He'll be havin' a ship of his own, one o' these days soon. What does he care about models?"
And he looked at Sol and winked. And Sol straightened his shoulders and stopped looking disappointed. "That's what I will," said Sol.
And the boys stayed with the old sailor for a long time, and the sailor pointed to something that was blue and dim on the water, far away.
"See that land?" he said. "That's Christmas Island on Christmas mornin'."
CHRISTMAS ISLAND 1st VIEW, BEARING N BY E