by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXX
THE MYSTERY CLEARED
How slowly those last days dragged away! Bobby could scarcely restrainhis impatience. But one day in the middle of July Itigailit Island wassighted, and that evening the _Gull_ anchored in its lee. Abel Zachariahhad not come out to his fishing yet, and the island was bare anddeserted. Bobby's emotion nearly got the better of him when heremembered that stormy winter's day when he had last been here, withSkipper Ed and Jimmy.
They launched a motor boat with which they had provided themselves, andwent ashore for a half hour, while Bobby pointed out Abel's landingplace, and the place where they always pitched their tent, and where thesnow _igloo_ had stood. The seals were gone, so Bobby knew Skipper Edand Abel had hauled them home before the ice broke up.
And then Bobby took his friends to see the grave, and the cairn he hadbuilt over it, and for a little they stood, in silence and in pity forthe nameless man who lay there.
Day comes early in this latitude at this season, and at two o'clock, inthe morning twilight, anchor was weighed, sails hoisted before a goodfair breeze, and the _Gull_ was plowing her way into Abel's Bay, withBobby as pilot, for he knew its waters as you and I know our citystreets. And what old friends the distant mountains and headlandsseemed, as he pointed them out to his companions!
It was mid-afternoon when the _Gull_ at last approached the head ofAbel's Bay, and in the distance the two cabins gradually came into view.Skipper Ed's cabin was the nearer, and their course was laid toward it,and presently two figures were discerned at the boat landing.
"That's the Skipper on the left!" exclaimed Bobby. "I know him becausehe's so tall! The other must be Father, but he doesn't look likeFather, either!"
And then, standing intently gazing at the men, he suddenly shouted:
"It's Jimmy! Oh, it's Jimmy! He was saved! He was saved! He was saved!Oh, thank God, he was saved!"
And in spite of himself tears of joy sprang to Bobby's eyes, and heleaned over the rail and shouted and shouted, and waved his hat, and atlast Skipper Ed and Jimmy heard, and they knew his voice, and they tooshouted and waved their hats, in no less excitement and joy than Bobby.
Presently the _Gull's_ sails were run down, her chains rattled, and shewas at anchor. As quickly as might be the launch, which was in tow, wasdrawn alongside, and Bobby, with Mr. and Mrs. Winslow and Edward Norman,were chugging toward the landing, where the two eager men stood to greetthem.
It would be quite impossible to describe the joy of the greeting, andthe explanations and the reunion that followed. As quickly as he coulddo so Bobby, with Jimmy to accompany him, ran away to make glad thehearts of Abel Zachariah and Mrs. Abel, who greeted him as he knew theywould, and who believed they had never been so happy in their life. Andembracing Bobby, Mrs. Abel cried over him, and they both declared thatGod was better to them than they deserved.
Skipper Ed was indeed the long lost Edward Norman. His brother, youngEdward's father, had confessed shortly after Edward's disappearance allthat had taken place. He was forgiven and made restitution, and hadnever again gambled. Several years later he and his wife were lost atsea, with Mr. and Mrs. Winslow's little son.
It had happened many years before. Robert Norman, Skipper Ed's brother,was invited, with his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Winslow, to cruise in afriend's yacht. Mrs. Winslow falling ill was unable to go, and thereforeMr. Winslow also declined the invitation. Robert and his wife urged,however, that the Winslows' little son, who was a namesake of Robert andof whom they were exceedingly fond, be permitted to accompany them. Thechild had been in poor health, and upon the recommendation of theirphysician consent was finally given. Edward, who was attending school atthe time, was not of the party.
The yacht had voyaged northward, stopping for several days at variousports from which letters were received. Finally a letter from Sydney,Nova Scotia, stated that the party had decided upon a still morenortherly cruise, and for a little while might not be in touch with themails. That was the last that was ever heard of the yacht or any one onboard.
And so for a full three hours they talked of home, and sorrowed overlong-ago partings and the dead, and rejoiced over their reunion and theliving, until Skipper Ed suggested that they all pay their respects toAbel Zachariah and Mrs. Abel, and complained that he had hardly seenBobby at all, and that they had not become properly acquainted with hispartner, who had run off to Abel's with Bobby, which was quite to beexpected under the circumstances, for the two boys were like brothers.
Because it was easier for Mrs. Winslow than the rough and wet path, theychugged over in the motor boat, and were met at the landing by Abel andMrs. Abel, who saw them coming and ran down to meet them, with muchgood-natured laughter, and ushered them into the cabin where, after thehospitable fashion of the country, they were called upon to drink tea.
"Bobby," suggested Mr. Winslow, when they had risen from the table,"I'm immensely interested in what you told me about yourself. May we notsee the package of which you spoke? It might throw some light upon yourparentage."
And when Bobby told Mrs. Abel that the visitors had requested to see thelittle clothes he wore when they found him, she and Abel were greatlypleased, for they were proud of Bobby, and without delay she opened thechest in which she kept her treasures and brought forth a neatly wrappedpackage, which she delivered to Mr. Winslow.
For many years the package had not been opened. It was covered withcloth, and tied with a buckskin thong. Mr. Winslow placed it on thetable, and as he undid it the others grouped themselves around him.
On the top of the package lay the little dress. He lifted it and shookit out and held it up for inspection, and then a strange thing happened.Mrs. Winslow, mildly curious, had been standing by Skipper Ed. Her facesuddenly went white, she reached for the garment, examined it for amoment, and then exclaimed:
"Oh, my little Bobby! Oh, my little boy! That was his dress! It washis!"
There was excitement at once. Mrs. Winslow became so dizzy and faintthat Skipper Ed sat her in a chair. Mr. Winslow's hand trembled as heexamined the other articles of clothing. Then he opened the wallet inwhich Mrs. Abel had placed Bobby's little ring, for he had long sinceoutgrown it.
"The ring Robert gave him on his third birthday, just before they leftus!" said Mrs. Winslow, bursting into tears. "His name is init--'Bobby.' Let me see it."
She was right. The identification was perfect. But none seemed yet toremember that the tall, handsome lad standing with them was the sameBobby. The parents were lost in the sorrowful yesterday and forgetful ofthe happy today, until Skipper Ed asked:
"What was the name of the yacht in which they were lost?"
"The _Wanderer_," said Mr. Winslow.
"The boat Bobby was found in was a yacht's boat, and it bore the name_Wanderer_. There's no doubt, I think, of the identification. Bobby,you scamp, why aren't you kissing your mother? Quick, now. And there'syour own father, too; and don't forget I'm your old uncle."
Suddenly this brought the father and mother to a realization that thisBobby was their Bobby--their lost child--the boy they had so longmourned as dead--and they drew him to them and the mother wept over him,and fondled him and caressed him, and for a time there was so muchconfusion, with every one talking and nobody listening, that they quiteforgot the notebook. But at last, when some order had been restored, Mr.Winslow opened it, and read. It contained some odds and ends of items,with a closing entry which cleared up much of the mystery of the_Wanderer_:
"At sea, in an open boat," it was dated.
"Two weeks ago the yacht _Wanderer_, when somewhere S.W. from theGreenland coast, collided in a dense fog with an iceberg. Her bow wasstove in and she began to sink at once. The boats were immediatelylowered and my wife and myself with our little nephew, Robert Winslow,and a sailor named Magee, succeeded in getting away in one of them,while the remainder of our party and crew were divided among three otherboats. But in the dense fog we somehow became separated from them.
"Magee as he entere
d the boat seized my shotgun and a pouch of loadedshells, the only things within reach, and we saved nothing else.Fortunately the boats had been used on shore expeditions and ours wasprovisioned with a bag of sea biscuits and a quantity of water, andcontained some blankets.
"On the day following the wreck my wife was taken ill, developing, Ibelieve, pneumonia. On the fifth day she died. I would have kept herremains with us in the boat, but Magee insisted that she be buried atsea, claiming that the presence of her body would have a constantlydepressing effect upon us. I offered a prayer and said an improvisedburial service over her, we wrapped her in a blanket, and weighting herbody with an anchor buried her. My heart went into the sea with her, andbut for my young son at home and my little nephew, I would have wishedto follow her.
"Yesterday Magee went mad. He began to talk wildly, and to brandish theloaded gun. I feared he would do injury with it, and endeavored to takeit from him. In some manner it was discharged, and I was injured, I amwell aware, fatally. I lost consciousness, and when I awoke today Mageewas gone. In his frenzy he must have plunged overboard.
"My strength is nearly gone, and it is hard to hold a pencil. Should ourboat by chance be discovered, let the finder communicate with Mr. HenryWinslow, Carrington, Massachusetts, and care for the little boy, who ishis son. I commend the child to God's care, and as I die I pray God thatmy son Edward may grow to noble and Christian manhood--that he maypossess as true and noble and Christian a character as my long-lostbrother for whom he was named, the brother who sacrificed so much for meand him, and whom I wronged so deeply. God has forgiven me and I die inpeace.
"Robert Norman."
It was difficult to read the final lines, for the pencil had waveredsadly, and it was evident that the entry had been finished with intenseeffort.
When Mr. Winslow at last laid aside the yellow old notebook there wereno dry eyes, and for a little while all were silent. Then Edward tookSkipper Ed's hand in a strong grasp.
"With God's help," said he, "I will live as my father wished, and alwaysendeavor to be worthy his ideal."
* * * * *
But our story must end. I might relate how Bobby and Jimmy went tocollege, for Skipper Ed would not part from his partner. How the threealways spent their summers with Abel Zachariah and Mrs. Abel, andprovided for their comfort until in the fullness of years they went totheir final rest; and how Edward erected a stone on Itigailit Island tohis father's memory. But already our story has grown too long.
We may be sure in the busy years that followed, Bobby and Jimmy neverforgot the cabins at Abel's Bay, nor the cozy hours in the easy chairsbefore the big box stove. Nor Skipper Ed's teaching: "Destiny is God'swill."
THE END