CH. X.] Life in the Little One. i8i 



disaster appeared in all the papers and was 

 the talk of the county, yet no living soul has 

 ever come forward to claim connection with 

 the child or with any of those drowned. 



" It was thought at the time that the owner 

 of the yacht was one of those desperate ruf- 

 fians of Irish extraction that have from time 

 to time arrived here from America, and that 

 when he so hastily joined the vessel he was 

 in fear of detection and was about to sail for 

 America. Anyhow the yacht was sighted 

 by the gunboat sent to look after it, and 

 chased and driven through the storm back 

 to our little harbour, it being doubtless the 

 intention of the fugitive to attempt his 

 escape by land if he could once reach the 

 shore. How miserably it ended you now 

 know; but you don't know quite all, for I 

 have not told you that, on reaching their 

 cottage, Jack's wife found that the little one 

 breathed. I have told you of the storm, and 



