ons too, and became quite a
skilful boat maker, and turned out some very pretty little wooden models
of ships and boats, all properly rigged, which his mother sold for him
in the market at the town hard by. He was able by these means to add a
little to the family fund, and though his gains were, of course, but
small, it was better than being a helpless burthen upon his poor
parents, and the light work whiled away many a weary hour of suffering
and pain for him. Through all the years that had passed since his
accident, I had been left still tied to the tester of his bed, and I
still served to help him to drag up his feeble limbs, and to turn in
bed, for he was very feeble, poor fellow.

[Illustration: JACK IN JEOPARDY. _Page 188._]

"But I was destined to play an important part once more, and for the
last time in the family history. When Robin was about twelve years old,
there came a very severe winter, which was sorely felt all through the
little fishing village, and by none more heavily than the poor
fisherman's family. The fishing turned out badly, and the previous
potato crop having been a scanty one, they barely found enough to live
upon. Poor Robin had been more than usually delicate and ailing during
that winter, and suffered more than the rest from all the privations.
The spring drew on drearily enough, cold, dull, and cheerless, so that
there scarcely seemed a glimpse of hope of better days. One day when
John was almost out of heart and hope, he set off on a long ramble,
hoping by diligent climbing and search to find at any rate a few rare
birds' nests in the crevices of the cliffs. Everything had gone worse
even than usual, there had been no fish caught worth mentioning for many
days, and John's poor old patched and mended nets were rapidly falling
to pieces in spite of all his care, while he was not able to buy enough
bread for the little household, not to mention material for new nets. So
he climbed wearily on, and rounded rock after rock, meeting with but
little success, till at last he had reached a long distance from home,
and had climbed a good way up one of the tallest cliffs in the
neighbourhood. He was rewarded by finding a couple of rare nests full of
eggs, and with renewed hope he climbed eagerly on. He saw one just a
little above him, but in a very awkward place to get at, for there was a
cleft in the rock he must leap over to get at it. He had a steady head
and a light foot, and took the leap with