job to bring the poor furriner to, and patch him up, I tell
you!'

'And the bear?' struck in Geoff. 'Did they do anything to the bear?'

'Only shot him dead; nothin' else. 'Twas the doctor hisself as shot
him; we didn't want no savage wild beasts round Northbourne woods.
But, as I was sayin', there's no nice feelin' about bears, and I make
no doubt 'twas owin' to one of them Polar beasts as Jerry lost his arm,
but we'll hear about that from hisself. Poor lad, he wasn't a bad
sort, Jerry. You could always take his word for whatever 'twas. I
never knowed Jerry tell a lie, and you can't say more'n that for a
genelman born. B'ys, I'd rather, when my own time comes to be laid by
in the churchyard yonder, have it in writin' over me, _He never telled
a lie_, than I'd have anything on arth writ there.'

'Well,' said Alick reflectively, 'there's one thing I can't make out,
and that is, what brought Jerry Blunt back to Northbourne? If I'd his
chances, and got free away from this stupid hole, catch me ever coming
back, that's all!'

'Ah, so you say, muster!' Binks had returned to the refractory carrots
once again. 'But you'll find out, one of these days, that there's
summat in each of us like cords that draws a man to the old home. 'Tis
nature, as the Almighty 'as planted deep in our hearts, a-workin' in
the wust of us and in the best of us alike. Why, 'tis the same thing,
that hankering, we--some of us--has for a further-away home still, the
homeland beyond.'

As Binks leant on his spade, and pushed back his straw hat to gaze over
the blue waters to the misty, far-off horizon, a softer look stole over
the wrinkled face. He had forgotten, the mischievous boys perched on
the wall above, forgotten Jerry, the returned wanderer, in the thought
of that home to which he would willingly enough depart, where the old
man's human treasures were already housed, and where they awaited
himself.

'I say, let's get down, and slip round to the lane; perhaps we might
catch Jerry, and walk home with him.'

It was Geoff's suggestion; and the brothers slid down from the wall to
the beach on the other side to make off, amid a distracting volley of
heart-rending howls from the betrayed Splutters and Shutters.

CHAPTER III

'MISS THEEDORY'

'Oh dear! I wish I could make it come right!'

The speaker was a tall girl of eighteen or so, who sat with her thumbs
pressing her ears, and her fingers shading her eyes, to shut out