into personal
contact as it were, with the dark side of life, and had made an
indelible impression on his soul. It did not indeed abate the sprightly
activity of his mind or body, but it sobered his spirit and, in one day,
made him more of a man than several years of ordinary life could have
accomplished. The most visible result was a manly consideration of, and
a womanly tenderness towards, his mother, which went a long way to calm
Mrs Bright's first outbreak of sorrow.

These rough fishermen--rough only in outward appearance--had their own
method of comforting the widow. They did not attempt anything like
direct consolation, however, but they sat beside her and chatted in
quiet undertones--through which there ran an unmistakable sound of
sympathy. Their talk was about incidents and events of a pleasant or
cheering kind in their several experiences. And occasionally, though
not often, they referred to the absent David when anything particularly
favourable to him could be said.

"We've got good news, Joe," said Billy, when the former was seated.

"Ay, Billy, I'm glad o' that. What may the good news be?"

"Another `_Evening Star_' has been raised up to us by the Lord," said
Mrs Bright, "but oh! it will never shine like the first one to _me_!"
The poor woman could go no further, so Billy again took up the story.

"You know," he said, "that our kind friend Miss Ruth Dotropy has been
greatly taken up about us since father went--went home, and it seems
that she's bin writin' to Lun'on about us, tellin' all about the wreck,
an' about our mistake in goin' to sea, last trip, without bein'
inspected, which lost us the insurance-money. An' there's a rich friend
o' hers as has sent her a thousand pound to buy mother another smack!"

"You _don't_ say that's true, Billy!" exclaimed Joe, with a look of
surprise.

"That's just what I do say, Joe. The smack is already bought, and is to
be fitted out at once, an' mother has made _you_ her skipper, Joe, an'
the rest have all agreed to go--Zulu as cook--and Gunter too. Won't
you, John?"

The boy, who was somewhat excited by the news he had to tell, frankly
held out his hand to Gunter, and that worthy, grasping it with an
unwonted display of frankness on his part growled--"I'm with 'ee, lad."

"Yes, it's all arranged," resumed Billy, "and we'll not be long o' being
ready for sea, so you won't be left to starve, mother--"

Up to this point the poor boy had held on with h