Ned Garth | Page 5

story being covered with a shining coat of black, while
various colours adorned the walls both inside and out. The old
lieutenant might frequently have been seen, brush in hand, adorning his
mansion, and stopping up every crevice, so as to defy damp, or rain
driven against it by the fiercest of south-westerly gales. It was
substantially roofed with thick slabs of slate, obtained from a
neighbouring quarry, calculated to withstand the storms of winter or the
thickest downfall of snow. The building had, however, so slight an
appearance that it looked as if it might be carried by a strong wind into
the sea; but a closer inspection showed that the materials of which it
was composed were well seasoned and firmly put together, and though
gaily bedecked, fire was the only element it had to fear, and against that
the owner had taken all necessary precautions.
"Sally, sister Sally!" he shouted, as he neared the door, "I have brought
a guest who requires careful looking after, or he'll slip through our
fingers, for he's pretty well gone already."
As he spoke, the door opened, and a female appeared holding a shaded
lamp in her hand, which the wind threatened every instant to extinguish.
Her figure was short and slight, her dress a grey silk gown, a plain lace
cap confining her once dark hair, already sprinkled with grey, drawn
back from her forehead, on which not a wrinkle could be seen. A kind
expression beamed from her countenance, which, if it had never
possessed much beauty, must always have been pleasant to look upon.

"Thank Heaven you've come back at last, John! Tom frightened me by
the intelligence that a wreck was on shore, and I knew that you would
be exposing yourself to danger. Have many of the poor fellows been
saved?"
"Only one, I fear," answered the lieutenant, pointing to the men who
now approached. "Take him into my room, Tom; the sooner he is in
bed the better, and mine is ready for him. Get some warm broth or a
cup of tea made in the meantime. He is terribly exhausted, and
probably has not tasted food for many hours."
The lieutenant made these remarks as Ned and Tom, with the
coast-guard men, conveyed the stranger into the room, when, speedily
taking off his wet garments, they placed him in bed.
"By his dress I suspect he is a gentleman," observed the lieutenant to
his nephew, as Tom gathered up his wet clothes. "Hand me his watch
and purse--it is a heavy one--and that pocket-book. Here is a small case
too, something of value probably. He will be glad to know that his
property is safe when he comes to. Run and see if the tea is ready. I will
get him, if I can, to take a little hot liquid. Tell your aunt and Jane to
stir up the fire and get the broth boiling; that will soon set him on his
legs I hope."
The lieutenant now managed to pour the warm tea down the throat of
the stranger, who opened his eyes, and looking about with an
astonished gaze murmured, "Thank you, thank you! Where am I?"
"All right and safe on shore, though you may take my room to be a
ship's cabin," answered the lieutenant. "We have got your property, in
case you are anxious about it; and after you have had a basin of broth I
would advise you to try and go to sleep. It will restore your strength
faster than any food we can give you."
The stranger again murmured his thanks, and soon after the broth was
brought, following his host's advice, he fell into a quiet slumber.
"He'll require a visit from the doctor perhaps, though I hope that he'll

do well enough now," observed the lieutenant, as he sat at supper with
his sister and Ned that evening after he had paid all the attention
necessary to his guest.
"I wonder who he can be?" observed Miss Sarah. "You say he was
dressed as a gentleman, and has a considerable amount of property in
his possession."
"Your female curiosity will probably be gratified to-morrow, when he
is able to give an account of himself," replied the lieutenant; "but it
matters very little as far as we are concerned. I suspect he'll thank us
for doing what it was our simple duty to do, and after he has gone his
way we shall probably hear no more of him. Had he been a seaman,
without a copper in his pocket, we should have treated him in the same
fashion I hope. Remember, Ned, the meaning of having no respect for
persons. It is not that we are not to respect those above us, but that we
are