lose your pretty new boat; and I daresay you feel it hard not
to have your own dear mamma to tell all about it."

Aleck tried to answer, but failed, bursting into tears instead, and my
mother talked on in her gentle loving way until the sobs grew less
frequent, and my cousin became at last quite calm. She told him that I
had always spoken the truth--she little knew--and that she could not
doubt my word, and that my father had become quite convinced it was the
mischievous work of the dog that had brought about all this trouble; and
then she made him feel how wrong it was to have accused me, instead of
believing my word; so that, before she left the room, he had told her he
was very very sorry for what he had said, and he hoped she and his uncle
would forgive him, and that he meant to ask my forgiveness also. I know
that my mother told him of a higher forgiveness that must be obtained
before he could feel at peace with his conscience, and spoke to him
somewhat in the same manner that George had, about trials great or small
being kindly and lovingly permitted by a heavenly Father.

I was almost asleep when my door opened, and the pattering of shoeless
feet announced a visitor. Aleck was groping in the dark, and, guided by
my voice, reached the bottom of my bed, discovered the mound raised by
my feet, felt his way along the ridge of my person, and having arrived
at my head, flung his arms around my neck, and kissing me warmly--in my
eye by mistake--said he could not sleep until he had told me how sorry
he was for having behaved so badly, and suspected me, and called me bad
names. He was quite sure now that Frisk had done the mischief, and he
hoped I would forgive him, adding that there was still just a chance of
finding the vessel, and that he meant to be up very early, and out by
six o'clock the next morning, to have a good look down in the White-Rock
Cove. "I daresay I shall find it after all, Willie, and if not--why, I
must finish the old thing we've been working at so long. But I once
found a knife of mine after I had lost it a week in a hay-field; so you
see I'm lucky." He kissed me again and went back to his bed, whilst I
lay tossing and wakeful, full of shame and self-reproach, and yet more
than ever built up in my determination that I would not, and could not,
confess the whole truth; it would be too great a shame and humiliation
after having so fully committed myself, and when my parents had
expressed such perfect