CHAPTER VI

Working

[Illustration] I HAD some ups and downs after this, but I was quickly corrected if I made a slip; the others seemed to keep a lynx-eyed watch on every word and movement, and if it had not been for Miss Moffat's letter, I really think I should have got thoroughly disheartened. She said in it,—

"Don't think you won't tumble, my dear; young feet are very uncertain. But when you've fallen, let the Lord pick you up again; He won't lose patience with you."

Some days were records of failure on failure; but I was beginning to find prayer a great comfort, and, to my great delight, I was feeling a warm love filling my heart for the One who had done, and was doing, so much for me.

"It's a great comfort, Honey," I said one morning, as we were dressing in our bedroom, "that fresh days keep coming. How dreadful if we had one long eternal day with no break!"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because it gives one a fresh start. Now, yesterday, you know how I went on; I lost my temper with Taters, was rude to Fräulein, and ended by being sent off to bed an hour earlier for having that row with Pat, and smashing our landlady's hideous lamp in the hall! Well, to-day I'm starting again, quite fresh and jolly!"

"You're an awfully queer Christian," said Honey. "I don't believe you're a proper one."

"So you always say; but I can't be perfect all at once—Miss Moffat says I can't. Do you think I am getting on a little bit?"

I added this rather pleadingly, and Honey responded warmly, "You're a brick! The boys say so, though they do tease you so. Pat said yesterday he would never have given you credit for so much pluck and perseverance. I'm sure you're as happy as any of us, and not a bit priggish, so far."

"Then," said I, a little shyly, "I wish you'd try it too, Honey. I've been reading in my Bible to-day about the disciples following Jesus, and the one who went to the other and said, 'Come and see.' I wish you would 'come and see,' Honey!"

[Illustration: HONEY WAS FASTENING HER COLLAR.]

Honey didn't answer. She was fastening her collar, which didn't seem to meet without a great deal of tugging, and her face grew red.

"I'll wait and see how you go on first," she said. "I've thought a lot lately, and if you can be religious, I don't see why I couldn't; but I shan't do anything yet."

I felt very pleased at this, and from that time asked God in my prayers to make Honey decide to serve Him. She was always much more gentle and thoughtful than I was; and I often told her she would find it much easier than I did.

The time at the seaside went much quicker than it did at home. We were out nearly all day long, and we explored the country for miles round. Fräulein was the only one who felt dull; she loved the town with all the shops and people; and then, too, she was always having the disagreeable duty of having to act as peacemaker between us and our landlady, who vowed she had never before had such a noisy set of lodgers. The boys and she were at daggers drawn, and I really think she would have liked to turn us out, if it had not been the empty time of year.

On Sunday morning we heard a sermon that made a great impression on me. We went to a little country church, and I liked the simple old-fashioned service there. The text we had was:

"'As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.'"

The vicar said a lot about Christians being so lazy and careless as they were, and not working for God; and he showed us that God would have no idle stewards on His property. It made me feel very ashamed of myself, when I remembered that for nearly four weeks I had known about and received this gift from God, and yet I had never tried to pass the good news on to any one. And when I came home I determined that I would try harder than ever to get Honey to join me; and after I had got her, I would try for Thunder.

But, beyond promising to read a few verses from the Bible with me every morning, Honey still resisted my persuasion.

"There's plenty of time, Li. I don't feel my sins a burden, as you did, and I'm getting rather tired of your preaches. Leave me alone. I mean to be religious some day, but not yet."

One morning Thunder and I had been for a long ramble along the shore, when, coming back, we saw a great commotion on the beach. We found Fräulein jabbering away in excited German to several fishermen, and nurse rushing backwards and forwards looking quite demented, whilst Pat and the others were talking at the top of their voices, and all were looking anxious and scared.

We were soon told what had happened; Pixie was lost, and the general fear was that he had drifted out to sea in a boat.

Honey was the last one with him; she was lying in a boat tied up on the beach reading a book, when he came and joined her. Now, when Honey read a story-book she always got so engrossed in it that she never noticed anything going on about her. Pixie played about, talking to himself, and she remembers seeing him twisting and untwisting the rope, and saying something about wanting to sail away to the sky, but she did not take much notice of it at the time. She left him soon after, for a few minutes, whilst she went to exchange her book with one that Taters had, and when she came back no Pixie was to be seen. She was not alarmed, for she concluded nurse had come to fetch him indoors, and it was only just before we came up that they discovered that Pixie was missing.

[Illustration: WE FOUND FRÄULEIN JABBERING AWAY IN EXCITED GERMAN TO SEVERAL FISHERMEN.]

"And not only is he gone," said Honey tearfully, turning to me, "but the boat is missing! He must have undone the rope, and the tide has come in, and he must have drifted out to sea!"

I looked anxiously out on the ocean. It was a calm day, and a few fishing-smacks were going out to sea, but there was no sign of a boat anywhere.

"We must do something," said Pat, with energy, "and the sooner we set to work the better. We shall not be likely to find him after dark. If he has drifted out to sea, we must follow."

And in an incredibly short time, he and Doodle-doo, Thunder and a stalwart boatman, were rowing out in the direction they thought the boat might have gone.

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