ter he felt better.

When the two little boys came out on deck the next morning, they went
forward among the sailors; and they wished each man a Merry Christmas
and they gave each one some little thing that they had found. The
things were some things that Captain Solomon had brought to give away,
although he did not expect, when he brought them, to give them to the
sailors. And the men seemed very much pleased, and they wished little
Jacob and little Sol a Merry Christmas, too, and some of the men had
presents for the boys. These presents were usually something that the
men had whittled out of ivory or bone or ebony. And little Jacob and
little Sol hadn't expected that the men would give them any presents,
and they were delighted; and, by the time they had got through giving
the men presents their jacket pockets bulged out with all the things the
men had given them.

But one thing little Jacob didn't put in his pocket, for fear that he
would break it. That was a little model of the brig _Industry_, about
three inches long. The hull of the model was cut out of ebony, and the
masts and spars were little ebony sticks stuck in, and the sails were of
ivory, scraped thin, and the ropes were silk thread. And the sails were
bulging, as if the wind was filling them and making them stand out from
the yards. Altogether, it was a most beautiful model, and little Jacob
was so surprised and pleased that, for some time, he couldn't say
anything to the sailor who had given it to him.

"Is this for me?" he said, at last. "For _me_?"

[Illustration: "'YES, LITTLE LAD,' HE SAID. 'FOR YOU--IF YOU WANT IT.'"]

That sailor was an old man. The little crinkles came around his eyes as
he smiled down at little Jacob.

"Yes, little lad," he said. "For you--if you want it. And with a Merry
Christmas!"

"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 straighte