Part 10

“You have come at the right moment,” said Sister Julia, and Mr. Vale, knowing what she meant, bowed his head and asked a blessing. It was a prayer as well as a blessing--a prayer for the future of these sailors, who were so soon again to give their lives to the keeping of the sea; and a prayer for the future of the children, that the whole volume of their life might remain as pure and unsullied as the pages of their childhood--nor did he forget the captain lying on his cot in the little vestry room. His voice seemed to gather additional earnestness as he prayed that he might be restored to perfect health, and take up his life again with a divine trust and courage which should be able to grapple victoriously with misfortune and despair, should he again be called to meet them.

At the close of the blessing Sister Julia thought she heard a low fervent “Amen” from the recesses of the little vestry room.

No doubt it was but natural that everyone at that long table should realise that it was no ordinary occasion. Never did a stranger company sit down to a Thanksgiving dinner under stranger circumstances, but they enjoyed it heartily, notwithstanding the strangeness.

Somehow or other, Mr. Vale knew just the way to draw everybody out, and thanks to him the party, that otherwise might easily have found itself a little stiff and embarrassed, became a very merry one.

Captain Murray enlivened the table with two or three old sea yarns, and while they were waiting for the dessert to be brought in Mr. Vale induced the sailors to give them two or to be going on, on every side.

When at last Mrs. Murray lifted an all-on-fire plum pudding to the table, one of the younger sailors, who was little more than a boy, clapped his hands from sheer delight, and, fired by his enthusiasm, all at the table followed his example. The colour came into Mrs. Murray's round face; she considered the demonstration as a compliment to herself, as was quite right she should, three Spanish songs which they were accustomed to sing together at sea. Meanwhile, Nan had travelled into the vestry with the captain's dinner, of clam broth and dainty little crackers; delicious broth, which Sister Julia had herself prepared, and crackers which Nan's own little hands had toasted to a most inviting brownness. It did Nan's heart good to see how the captain enjoyed eating them, and it did the captain's heart good to see how much she enjoyed seeing him eat them; and so it was that all through that Thanksgiving Day a constant process of _doing hearts good_ seemed for no little raisin-stoning and washing of currants had gone toward the concoction of that great brown pudding, about which the blue flames were now curling so beautifully.

At last the supreme moment for “all hands” arrived, when, at a signal from Sister Julia, Regie, as chairman of the finance committee, produced the budget of envelopes, and handed them to one and another as fast as he could make out the names written on the backs of them.

Meanwhile, Mr. Vale stood up, and explained that each envelope contained a gift of money, and though by no means a large amount, the giver hoped it might stand them in good stead, and that each would kindly accept it with her best wishes.

At the words “her best wishes,” the eyes of the crew, as by common consent, turned toward Sister Julia, so that she had right away to deny having had any part in the transaction.

“No, indeed,” she said, “you must not thank me for this; Mr. Vale's sister is the good friend to whom you are indebted.”

In the absence of their captain the men looked to their first mate to express their gratitude. Mr. Vale would have given a great deal if his sister could have heard the few earnest words which the first mate spoke from a full heart, and could have seen the sturdy fellow as he spoke them.

And so the dinner was ended. It had grown quite dark in the chapel, for the early November twilight had deepened landward and seaward.

“Before we separate,” said Mr. Vale, “I wish Regie would sing the German evening hymn from the Children's Hymnal.”

Regie needed no urging, and took his stand beside Sister Julia at the organ, while the others still kept their places. He loved to sing, throwing his whole soul into it, and in that lay half his power to please.

Clear and sweet rang out the words of the simple hymn, and at its close more than one sleeve was brushed across misty eyes, and tears stole from under the captain's eyelids as he lay in the little vestry--lying there alone, why need he strive to hide them?--besides, what was there to be ashamed of in such tears as those?

These had been days of new and strange experiences to those Spanish sailors, and they had learned some of life's best lessons for the first time.

“Your faces are kinder than when you came,” Nan had frankly said to the crew one day.

“Senorita, that is because our hearts are kinder,” one of the men had answered.

XVIII.--THE KING'S CAMERA

NOTHER week rolled by, and found the crew of the _Christina_ ready to say good-bye to Moorlow, and yet not ready, for most of them were very loth to go; but the captain was quite recovered, and there was no excuse for their remaining longer. Indeed, Sister Julia thought that those of their number who had sustained no very severe injuries ought to have gone before, but the men seemed anxious to stand by their captain, and she did not quite have the courage to send them off. That such a sad state of things was possible never seemed to enter the mind of any member of the crew. Without being in any sense ungrateful, they simply took everything for granted. With the exception of the captain, not one of them ever questioned where the money came from that provided so generously for their wants during those two weeks. They looked upon Sister Julia as a veritable saint, with illimitable, if not divine, resources, sent to minister to them especially; and the reverential way in which they bade her farewell showed that they so regarded her to the last.

All Moorlow was gathered at the station to see them off. Everyone who had contributed in any way to their comfort,--and there were few in Moorlow who had not--felt a sort of responsibility in giving them a cheery “send off.” Even the shabby little Croxsons were there, for had they not run on innumerable errands that morning when the crew were rescued? As the train moved away the captain stood upon the rear platform. A neat little bundle was tucked under one arm, for Nan, not forgetting her resolution, had presented him at the last moment with the warm comforter which she herself had made. The captain waved a red handkerchief until the station was entirely out of sight, and his last glance, before he turned and went into the car, was toward the hull of the _Christina_, which he could plainly see just where she had stranded that stormy November morning. It seemed to him as though he were saying good-bye to all his past, and with a courage that surprised him he was ready to make a new start. He was very grateful for the fact that his men were thoroughly loyal to him, and felt pretty sure that with such a crew at his service he could easily gain command of some vessel plying between Spain and the United States. So it was that with a contented smile he took a seat in the midst of his crew, and, encouraged by their captain's good cheer, the dark-eyed men soon fell to conversing in the liveliest manner in their native Spanish, much to the amusement of their fellow-passengers.

It had been a very exciting fortnight for quiet Moorlow, but in a marvellously short space of time everything settled back into the old grooves. The little church soon looked as sober and decorous as though it had never served as a temporary hospital, or known the savoury odours of a Thanksgiving dinner.

A December storm had beaten the _Christina's_ hull literally to pieces, and nothing was left to tell the story of the wreck save the shell which had been shot out with the whip-line, and which Captain Murray, according to custom, had lettered and dated, and hung in the Life-saving Station; a trophy of which the crew had good reason to be proud.

The children had resumed their lessons, and Regie was counting the days till Papa and Mamma Fairfax would board the homeward-bound steamer at Liverpool. The three months, which had seemed a long time to look forward to, had slipped away very quickly, and Harry and Nan and himself were full of joyous anticipation, for a glorious plan was on foot.

Mr. Fairfax had written very urgently asking that the Murray children might be allowed to spend the Christmas holidays with Regie in town. Captain Murray had only given his consent very reluctantly, for he knew the Moorlow Christmas would be a sorry affair without the children; but nevertheless he _had_ given it, and Nan and Harry's respective heads were almost turned with delight at the prospect.

It is doubtful if the liveliest imagination could picture all that a whole week in New York meant to these little Murrays. They had never been there for more than a day at a time, and then only at rare intervals, and it was not strange that stolen whispers in lesson hours, and long chats out of them, all bore upon the delightful subject of this visit, until, in Sister Julia's estimation, the children were devoting too much time to sitting indoors, and plotting and planning, and not enough to out-of-door exercise; so she put her wits to work to devise some scheme to bring about a change of affairs.

“There is one thing, Regie,” she said, “over which your Papa Fairfax will be very much disappointed when he comes home.”

She spoke so seriously, that Regie looked up at her with a very troubled face, which said, as plainly as words, “Whatever do you mean?”

“Why, you haven't a single picture to show him. In all this while not a photograph have you taken.”

“That's so,” with a sigh; “but then I don't believe he'll expect it. You can't do much photographing in cold weather; besides, there's nothing to take in winter.”

“You said once that you'd like to take a good picture of me,” Nan remarked, showing that she did not consider that the low state of the thermometer in any way diminished her charms, as indeed it did not. There was not a prettier or more breezy little specimen of humanity in existence than Nan on one of these wintry afternoons, when she had just, come in from an hour's buffeting with wind and weather on the beach.

“Yes, I _would_ like a good picture of you, Nan,” said Regie, patronisingly, looking at her with his head on one side, after the meditative fashion of an artist regarding his model. “The trouble is, I don't know of any place in this house where you can get a good enough light.”

“And why in the house, pray?” asked Sister Julia; “it is not a bit too cold to try your hand out of doors. This is just a perfect winter's day, and there is no wind to blow, your camera over.”

“That's so,” assented Regie again, “I'm going to get ready,” and suiting the action to the word he bounded out of the room, and the body-guard followed his example.

At the time that Mr. Fairfax had seen fit to endow Regie with a photographing outfit, he had, with no little painstaking, carefully instructed him as just to how the whole process, from beginning to end, must be managed. As a result Regie had succeeded in producing some first-rate pictures, “all his own work, too,” as he would have told you proudly. But that was more than a year ago, and before he knew Nan and Harry. He had some fine plans for the summer just ended, but that unlucky fall from the cherry tree bough had prevented his carrying them out. To be sure, within the last few weeks, since the little leg had so thoroughly mended, he might have gotten to work again as easily as could be, but the excitement following the wreck of the _Christina_ had driven all thought of it out of his mind.

The fact that Nan knew that Regie could take pictures accounted in a measure, perhaps, for the reverence with which she regarded him; but Harry was as doubtful of his real ability as in the matter of the earning of the money for the hospital fund, and he hailed with delight the chance he was about to have to put him to the test.

Harry and Nan were ready in no time, but with the amateur photographer, “getting ready” is a mysterious and laborious proceeding, and Rex failed to put in an appearance.

The body-guard waited and waited till, their patience exhausted, they scaled the stairway leading to His Royal Highness's private apartment, but His Majesty was nowhere to be seen.

“Why, where is Rex?” cried Nan.

“I'm in here,” answered a muffled voice.

“What, in the closet?” and Harry rushed for it.

“Yes, but don't open the door for the world. I'm filling my plate-holders.”

Harry and Nan looked at each other as much as to say, “What in creation is he talking about?” then by tacit consent they noiselessly crouched down by the closet door, and Harry peeped through the keyhole.

His face grew pale, and with a terrified expression he drew Nan over so that she could take a look; then with precipitate haste they fled from the room.

“Oh, Sister Julia!” cried Nan.

“Regie's shut up in his closet,” cried Harry.

“And we looked through the keyhole and saw an awful red light,” interrupted Nan.

“And we think he has set the closet on fire, and you had better go and see to it right away,” interrupted Harry, very much surprised that Sister Julia did not seem in the least alarmed.

“Why, he's only filling his plate-holders,” she exclaimed, laughing,

“Yes,” nodded Nan, her eyes as large as saucers, “he said something like that.”

“Of course he did, and the fire you thought you saw is the light from his ruby lantern.”

“His what!” exclaimed Harry; then, after a little pause, he added, “Say! won't you explain to us something about it?” Ashamed that he had shared Nan's fright, and foreseeing that he would be obliged to ask Regie more questions than would be at all agreeable.

“Why, certainly,” answered Sister Julia, with a smile still playing about the corners of her mouth. “You see they take these pictures on a plate, that is a square glass which comes for the purpose, coated with a dry, white preparation. Mr. Fairfax buys them in boxes holding a dozen each, and when Regie wants to take pictures he has to take them from the box and put them in his plate-holders. The plate-holders are a sort of little boxes that fit in the back of his camera.”

“His cam-e-ra?” drawled Nan.

“Yes, that is the name of the instrument he takes the pictures with, but it will ruin the plate to let a ray of daylight touch it before he is ready to take the picture, so Rex must needs go into a dark closet, and light his ruby lantern, when the time comes for filling his plate-holders.”

Regie appeared on the scene just then, with his apparatus in his arms, and the trio marched off, the King all unconscious of the fright he had given the body-guard, and the body-guard intending never to enlighten him on the subject.

“What shall we take?” said Regie, when they had gone a little way down the beach. “I wish we had enough for a group. I like to take groups best.”

“What is a group?” Nan asked, shyly.

“Why, a group's a lot of people, goosie,” Harry answered, for he enjoyed answering questions in direct proportion to his dislike to asking them.

“Would the Croxsons do, then?” Nan queried timidly, often feeling more or less subdued by Harry's “goosie.”

“The very thing,” replied Rex; “they're so queer-looking, they'll make a jolly funny group.”

“Shall I go for them while you're getting your _camera_ ready?” remarked Harry, airing his knowledge of the photographic terms. Regie nodded yes, and Harry was off.

“Wouldn't it be nice to take them in that?” said Nan, pointing to one of the fishermen's boats drawn up upon the beach.

“Of course it would. You're splendid for thinking of things, Nan,” Regie replied, proceeding to get his instrument in order. Nan helped him as best she could, very happy over the fact that such an important personage as he was considered her _splendid_ for anything.

Meanwhile the Croxsons were hurrying into a miscellaneous assortment of threadbare out-of-door wraps, which were supposed to keep the cold out, but in point of fact did nothing of the sort. They were highly elated over the prospect of having their photographs taken. Not one of them had ever experienced that sensation before.

“W-w-won't it be a lark to be t-t-took?” stuttered little Madge, beside herself with excitement; and the flushed faces of the other four children showed that they undoubtedly thought it would, the neglected little quintette never dreaming that they had been invited because they were so “queer looking” and would make “a jolly funny group.” But if Regie and Harry and Nan did sometimes have a little fun at the Croxsons' expense, they were too well-behaved ever to let them have an inkling of it. As for Regie, he was as gallant in his manner to these shabby little specimens as to the would-be little aristocrats in velvet knickerbockers and patent leather pumps whom he was accustomed to meet at dancing school. When the Croxsons arrived on the scene, Regie, having succeeded in fastening his camera to the tripod, had just plunged his head under the black rubber cloth which hung over it.

“What are you doing?” Joe Croxson made so bold as to ask.

“Focussing on the boat,” was Regie's mysterious reply, from the folds of the rubber cloth.

At this answer Madge seemed to be somewhat intimidated. The word focussing had an ominous sound in her ears.

“What do you mean by that?” Joe asked gruffly, for not one of the little party was a whit wiser than before.

“Oh, I'm fixing things so as to be able to take a clear picture of that boat,” Regie answered, good-naturedly; “and now I would like you all to run and get into it, ready to be taken.”

At this the party would have scampered off to do his bidding but for little Millie Croxson, the baby, who had succumbed to a nameless fear, and had to be coaxed and carried to the scene of action.

Regie stood at a little distance, wondering how he should pose his party, when suddenly Nan exclaimed, “Oh, I say! let's do this; let's pretend we have been shipwrecked, and had to take to the boats, and are out on the open sea. And you might take two pictures, Rex, one where we think we must all die in the boat, and one where we have hailed a steamer, and are going to be picked up and saved.”

Certainly Nan _was_ splendid for thinking of things, and the children took to the idea at once; but it took somewhat longer to arrange matters to the satisfaction of everybody. Finally it was arranged that the four girls should be huddled together in the stern of the boat, and Joe and Jim Croxson should each have an oar, and lean way forward, as though they were rowing against a very heavy sea, and that Harry should be stationed on the bow as a look-out. Harry and Nan endeavoured, by turning their coats inside out, and one or two other alterations in costume, to make themselves as forlorn as possible. There was something pathetic in the fact that even the Croxsons themselves realised they need attempt nothing in this direction; they were sufficiently forlorn as they were.

Little Millie was supposed to be a half-starved little baby, and had an old handkerchief tied three-cornerwise about her head. As she sat on Nan's lap her thin little face looked the character to perfection.

“Now,” said Rex, when all was in readiness; “you mustn't move, not one of you.”

“C-c-can we w-w-wink?” stuttered Madge.

“Are we forlorn enough and sorrowful enough?” asked Nan.

“How do I look?” urged Harry, who stood balanced on the look-out in the stiffest of positions.

“Oh, you are all right,” Regie answered, collectively; “now, still, every one of you.”

Trembling with excitement he uncapped the lens, while he counted one, two, three, four, which were supposed to cover two seconds in time'; and then pop! on went the cap again, but alas! the picture was not taken. Rex had forgotten to draw out the slide which would let the picture in on the plate; but before he had time to announce his discovery the children had abandoned their positions in the boat, and were crowding once again around the camera.

Regie hated to acknowledge his carelessness. He was loth to take a single step down from the pinnacle on which the children had placed him because of his acquaintance with the photographing art, but it had to be done.

“You'll all have to go back and be taken over again,” he said, disconsolately. “I didn't get any picture that time, because I forgot to do something I ought to.”

The children marched back to the boat, but with faith evidently weakened in the real ability of this would-be photographer. It took some time to gain the properly forlorn expression and look of general despondency, but at last all was in readiness, and the picture was taken.

“Now change your positions and smile like everything,” called Rex, “as though you saw the steamer that is going to rescue you coming toward you, and I'll take the other picture in a jiffy.”

The children brisked up and obeyed Regie's orders by grinning from ear to ear, with the exception of baby Millie, whom neither petting nor teasing could coax into so much as the suggestion of a smile. This having your picture taken still seemed to her an uncanny and perilous proceeding.

“Say, Rex!” called Nan, in an anxious tone, “the baby won't look cheerful. I can't make her smile, no matter what I do.” H ere was a real difficulty! Rex walked over to the boat to give the matter his personal attention.

“Perhaps it's too young a baby to understand that she isn't going to be drowned,” suggested Madge, who was really quite experienced in the matter of babies, having had almost entire charge of Millie from her birth.

“Why, of course she is,” Nan replied, blaming herself for not having thought of this way of solving the problem; “she's hungry and cold still, and she shouldn't smile.”

So little Miss Millie's downheartedness proved no obstacle after all, and Regie soon announced that picture number two was taken. Pell mell the children scrambled out of the boat and hurried back to the camera.

“Let's see it, Rex.”

“Is it good?” were their exclamations all at once.

“Which is the best?”

“Why, I can't tell you yet,” answered Regie, out of patience with such ignorance; “don't you know I have to take the plates home before you can tell a thing about them, and develop them?”

“Develop?” said Jim Croxson, not having the remotest idea what the word might mean; “develop your grandmother! It's my opinion if a fellow had taken a picture he'd be glad enough to show it. I don't believe you can take 'em at all, and there's no use in wasting any more time in this tomfoolery. Come, Croxsies, let's travel home and scare up something to eat.”

Jim was a ringleader in that family circle, and the younger Croxsons took their departure with sullen faces, which looked as though they had spent more time in the weary activity of _scaring up_ something to eat, than in the more passive and beneficial process of eating. Regie stood looking after them.

“I call that pretty mean,” he said, angrily, “and it shows just how much they know about it.”

“Mean!” muttered Nan, with her little lips pressed tightly together; “I would just like to see that Jim Croxson come up with.”