I did not
like to tell Mary of that at first, but it had to come out, and, strange
as it may seem, it made her think for the time less about what was to us
by far the greater loss. Supper remained long untasted, but at last I
felt that I must eat, and so I fell to, and after a time Nancy followed
my example and made Mary take something.

Nancy then began to talk of what we must do to gain our living, and we
sat up till late at night discussing our plans. There was the wherry,
and I must get a mate, and I should do very well; then we had the house,
for we never dreamed that we should not go on living in it, as we were
sure Tom would have wished us to do. Nancy was very sanguine as to how
she could manage. Her plain, pock-marked face beamed as she spoke of
getting three times as much work as before. Short and awkward as was
her figure, Nancy had an heroic soul. Mary must continue to attend
school, and in time would be able to do something to help also.

We talked on till we almost fell asleep on our seats. The next morning
we were up betimes. Nancy got out some black stuff we had worn for
mother, a piece of which she fastened round my arm to show respect to
old Tom's memory, and after breakfast I hurried out to try and find a
mate, that I might lose no time in doing what I could with the wherry.
I had thought of Jim Pulley, a stout strong lad, a year or two older
than myself, who, though not very bright, was steady and honest, and I
knew that I could trust him; his strength would supply my want of it for
certain work we had to do. Jim was the first person I met on the Hard.
I made my offer to him; he at once accepted it.

"To tell the truth, Peter, I was a-coming to say, that if thou hadst not
got any one to go in the place of Tom Swatridge, I would help thee till
thou art suited for nothing, or if thou wilt find me in bread and cheese
I'll be thankful."

In a few minutes after this Jim and I were plying for hire in the
harbour, and we had not long to wait before we got a fare. The first
day we did very well, and I gave Jim a quarter of what we took, with
which he was perfectly content.

"I wouldn't ask for more, Peter," he said, "for thou hast three mouths
to feed, and I have only one."

The next few days we were equally successful; indeed I went home every
evening in good spirits as to my prospects. I made enough for all
expenses, and could lay by something for the repairs of the wherry.

Though Jim a