1 62 Studies in Rat Catching, [ch. ix. 



that day she had worked and toiled, mending 

 nets and selling fish in fair weather and 

 foul, often weary and half-starved, but suc- 

 ceeding in the end to keep her old cottage 

 over her head, and to bring her boys up 

 respectably and turn them out two of the 

 smartest fishermen along the coast. 



As we left the cottage the first tender 

 light of the morning was paling the eastern 

 sky far out to sea, and hastening on to the 

 Point, we could just make out a distant sail 

 appearing now and then out of the departing 

 darkness of the night, and before half an hour 

 was over the rector declared it to be Jack's 

 boat coming in fast before the wind. All 

 the village was astir in a minute, old men 

 and young women and children hurrying to 

 the cove and making ready for the home- 

 coming ; and in a few minutes the boat, with 

 Jack holding the helm and the old woman's 

 boys sitting crouched low down, dashed past 



