362 Cape Pigeons and Whale Birds 



broad, smooth eddies of the ship's sidelong drift, 

 and watching keenly for scraps as usual. He clapped 

 his hands with glee, and cried shrilly : 



* Dada, those little birds don't mind the storm 

 a bit, do they ? ' 



* No, dear,' said his father gravely, * the sea is 

 their home, don't you see ? ' 



The child meditated for a few moments, and then, 

 his face brightening again, he cried : ' Well, dada, 

 it's ours too, isn't it ? ' Then, without waiting for his 

 father's reply, he said slowly : ' If Gentle Jesus can 

 keep those pretty little birds in the midst of all this 

 lot of water and big wind, of course He can keep us. 

 I did feel 'fraid down in the cabin, but I don't now. 

 I know what mumma meant by the story about Gentle 

 Jesus and the five sparrows sold for two fardens. 

 Not one of them can fall in the sea without your 

 Father.* 



The man at the wheel passed his oil-skinned 

 sleeve across his eyes to wipe away the salt spray, 

 the skipper turned away and cleared his throat, and 

 the mother, tightening her hold upon her boy, felt 

 a tear trickle down her drawn cheek ; but all three 

 realised the value of the message brought them by 

 the child, entirely independent of their knowledge 

 of the inexorable operation of natural forces. And 

 it is safe to say that thenceforward, in spite of the 

 walty state of the almost worn-out vessel, of their 

 sorely hampered condition for fighting the stern 

 elements in that rugged quarter of the globe, they had 

 all gained immensely in the essentials for fighting 

 the good fight which brave sailors are often called 

 upon to wage, and, as in this case, with, metaphorically 

 speaking, one hand tied behind them. 



Within a few hours the gale blew itself out, and 



