lined the honour; so the captain
gave him five hundred pounds to set him up in any line he chose. Ned
Sinton sold his property, and also presented his old comrade with a
goodly sum of money, saying, that as he, (Ned), had been the means of
dragging him away from the diggings, he felt bound to assist him in the
hour of need. So Kate Morgan became Mrs O'Neil the week following; and
she, with her husband and her little sister, started off for the
interior of the country to look after a farm.

About the same time, Captain Bunting having completed the lading of his
brig, succeeded in manning her by offering a high wage, and, bidding
adieu to Ned and Tom, set sail for the Sacramento.

Two days afterwards, Ned got a letter from old Mr Shirley--the first
that he had received since leaving England. It began thus:--

"My Dearest Boy,--What has become of you? I have written six letters,
at least, but have never got a single line in reply. You must come home
immediately, as affairs here require your assistance, and I'm getting
too old to attend to business matters. Do come at once, my dear Ned,
unless you wish me to reprove you. Moxton says only a young and
vigorous man of business can manage things properly; but when I
mentioned you, he shook his head gravely. `Too wild and absurd in his
notions,' said he. I stopped him, however, by saying that I was fully
aware of your faults--"

The letter then went rambling on in a quaint, prosy, but interesting
style; and Ned sat long in his room in old Mr Thompson's cottage poring
over its contents, and gradually maturing his future plans.

"It's awkward," soliloquised he, resting his head on both hands. "I
shall have to go at once, and so won't have a chance of seeing Bunting
again, to tell him of poor Tom's circumstances. He would only be too
glad to give him a helping hand; but I know Tom will never let him know
how hard-up he is. There's nothing else for it," he added,
determinedly; "my uncle will laugh at my profitless tour--but,
_n'importe_, I have learned much.--Come in!"

This last remark was addressed to some one who had tapped gently at the
door.

"It's only me, Ned; can I come in? I fear I interrupt you," said Tom,
as he entered the room.

"Not at all; sit down, my boy. I have just been perusing a letter from
my good old uncle Shirley: he writes so urgently that I fear I must
return to England by the first homeward-bound ship."

"Return to England!" exclaim