CHAPTER I 



THE CALL OF THE SEA 



On the bare road over the high moorland, 

 covered w^ith fog, a young lad was going on his 

 w^ay alone. He was tall and slim, and had an 

 open brow and a frank expression, to which his 

 thick brown eyebrows gave a singular penetra- 

 tion, and his square chin a suggestion of deter- 

 mination. The pleasing face clearly expressed 

 a will and an intelligence beyond his years in 

 this child, as he proceeded on his way with a 

 light step, his only luggage a small bundle on 

 his shoulder. 



Suddenly he turned. He had heard behind 

 him the sound of a trotting horse and the rumble 

 of carriage wheels. He stopped instinctively, 

 to await the passing of the vehicle. He was glad 

 to see a fellow creature, and he felt an ardent 

 wish to speak to the man approaching him, no 

 doubt a countryman like himself. For more 

 than four hours he had been walking over the 

 wide moor alone; he had not met a soul, nor 

 heard any sound but the song of the wind. 



The trap drew nigh. The driver had the 

 squat and stolid look of a Yorkshire countryman. 



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