The man started, as a sudden remembrance of forgotten duties came
into his mind. He had neglected to look after those Culm people,--he
had forgotten about Noll's school and its pupils. But it should be so
no longer, he resolved at once. That work which the boy loved and
desired to complete, he would take up and carry out. It should be a
pleasure and delight. He would gather up the broken, half-completed
plans, and make it the work of his life to perfect them as Noll would
have done. Now the inmates of the stone house were not well supplied
with provisions, as the winter stores had not been laid in. There was
no telling when another ship would touch at Culm, but, in all
probability, it would be soon. The skipper must have friends
somewhere, who would be searching for his whereabouts. Trafford
divided his supplies with the fishermen, trusting that ere long some
sail would appear, bound for the Rock, or within signalling distance
of it. He walked often by the sea, looking toward Hastings, and trying
in vain to discern some sail bound hitherward. He walked over to Culm
village, and lingered about the little room where Noll's school had
been, and resolved that the plan of a new schoolroom, with good seats,
benches, and a faithful teacher, should be carried out if ever
communication was opened between the Rock and Hastings. And if no
teacher could be got for the winter, he would teach the children
himself. He wondered whether there were any chairs or benches left
from the cargo of the "Gull," remembering that Noll was to bring
school-furniture from Hastings with him; but, though he searched long
and keenly among the timbers and refuse which the sea had thrown up,
he could not find so much as a bit of varnished wood that looked as if
it might have belonged to a desk or chair. At this he wondered, but
thought, "The poor boy was unsuccessful, or else the sea refuses to
give up aught that was his, as well as himself."

And still he watched and waited for a sail, thinking that if none came
soon, a way must be devised for getting to Hastings.

CHAPTER XXV.

OUT OF THE SEA.

The fourth week after the shipwreck dragged slowly away,--spent in
watching and waiting for a sail. None came. The lack of good food was
getting to be a serious matter for both Culm folk and the inmates of
the stone house. Trafford's stores were well-nigh exhausted, and the
last day of that long fourth week was spent in company with Dirk
Sharp a