By Pike and Dyke: a Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER IV

  WOUNDED

  They dropped anchor a short distance off the port, and then litsome torches and waved them.

  "The firing is sure to have been heard," Peters said, "and theywill be sending off to know what is going on, otherwise there wouldhave been small chance of getting in tonight."

  As the mate anticipated, the sound of oars was soon heard, and alarge boat rowed out towards them. It stopped at a distance of ahundred yards, and there was a shout of "What ship is that?"

  "The English brig Good Venture. We pray you to allow us to bring ourcaptain, who has been sorely wounded by the Spaniards, on shore."

  "What has been the firing we have heard? We could see the flashesacross the water."

  "We have been twice engaged," Peters shouted; "first with twoSpanish galleys, and then with a large ship of war, which we beatoff with heavy loss."

  "Well done, Englishmen!" the voice exclaimed, and the boat at oncerowed out to the brig. "You cannot come in tonight," the Dutchofficial said, "for the chain is up across the harbour, and therule is imperative and without exception; but I will gladly takeyour captain on shore, and he shall have, I promise you, the bestsurgical aid the town can give him. Is he the only one hurt?"

  "One of the men has been injured with a splinter, but he needs butbandaging and laying up for a few days. We have had a shot or twothrough our bulwarks, and the sails are riddled. The captain's sonis below with him; he acts as second mate, and will tell you allabout this affair into which we were forced."

  "Very well; we will take him ashore with us then. There is quitean excitement there. The news that a sea fight was going on broughtall the citizens to the walls."

  The mattress upon which Captain Martin was lying was brought outand lowered carefully into the stern of the boat. Ned took hisseat beside it, and the boat pushed off. Having passed the fortsthey entered the port and rowed to the landing place. A number ofcitizens, many of them carrying torches, were assembled here.

  "What is the news?" a voice asked as the boat approached.

  "It is an English ship, burgomaster. She has been hotly engaged;first with Spanish galleys, and then with a warship, which wasdoubtless the one seen beating up this afternoon. She sank one ofthe galleys and beat off the ship." A loud cheer broke from thecrowd. When it subsided the official went on: "I have the Englishcaptain and his son on board. The captain is sorely wounded, andI have promised him the best medical aid the town can give him."

  "That he shall have," the burgomaster said. "Let him be carried tomy house at once. Hans Leipart, do you hurry on and tell my wifeto get a chamber prepared instantly. You have heard who it is, andwhy he is coming, and I warrant me she will do her best to make thebrave Englishman comfortable. Do two others of you run to DoctorsZobel and Harreng, and pray them to hasten to my house. Let astretcher be fetched instantly from the town hall."

  As soon as the stretcher was brought the mattress was placed on it,and six of the sailors carried it on shore. The crowd had by thistime greatly increased, for the news had rapidly spread. Everyhead was bared in token of sympathy and respect as the litter wasbrought up. The crowd fell back and formed a lane, and, led by theburgomaster, the sailors carried the wounded man into the town. Hewas taken upstairs to the room prepared for him, and the surgeonswere speedily in attendance. Medicine in those days was but aprimitive science, but the surgery, though rough and rude, was farahead of the sister art. Wars were of such constant occurrence thatsurgeons had ample opportunity for practice; and simple operationssuch as the amputation of limbs, were matters of very commonoccurrence. It needed but a very short examination by the two surgeonsto enable them to declare that the leg must at once be amputated.

  "The bone appears to be completely smashed," one of them said."Doubtless the ball was fired at a very short distance." A groanburst from Ned when he heard the decision.

  "I knew that it would be so, Ned," his father said. "I never doubtedit for a moment. It is well that I have been able to obtain aid sospeedily. Better a limb than life, my boy. I did not wince when Iwas hit, and with God's help I can stand the pain now. Do you goaway and tell the burgomaster how it all came about, and leave mewith these gentlemen."

  As soon as Ned had left the room, sobbing in spite of his effortsto appear manly, the captain said: "Now, gentlemen, since this mustbe done, I pray you to do it without loss of time. I will bear itas best I can, I promise you; and as three or four and twenty yearsat sea makes a man pretty hard and accustomed to rough usage, Iexpect I shall stand it as well as another."

  The surgeons agreed that there was no advantage in delay, andindeed that it was far better to amputate it before fever set in.They therefore returned home at once for their instruments, theknives and saws, the irons that were to be heated white hot to stopthe bleeding, and the other appliances in use at the time. Had Nedbeen aware that the operation would have taken place so soon, hewould have been unable to satisfy the curiosity of the burgomasterand citizens to know how it had happened that an English trader hadcome to blows with the Spaniards; but he had no idea that it wouldtake place that night, and thought that probably some days wouldelapse before the surgeons finally decided that it was necessaryto amputate it.

  One of the surgeons had, at the captain's request, called theburgomaster aside as he left the house, and begged him to keep thelad engaged in conversation until he heard from him that all wasover. This the burgomaster willingly promised to do; and as manyof the leading citizens were assembled in the parlour to hear thenews, there was no chance of Ned's slipping away.

  "Before you begin to tell us your story, young sir, we should beglad to know how it is that you speak our language so well; forindeed we could not tell by your accent that you are not a nativeof these parts, which is of course impossible, seeing that yourfather is an Englishman and captain of the ship lying off there."

  "My mother comes from near here," Ned said. "She is the daughter ofMynheer Plomaert, who lived at Vordwyk, two miles from Amsterdam.She went over to England when she married my father, but when hewas away on his voyages she always spoke her own language to uschildren, so that we grew to speak it naturally as we did English."

  Ned then related the news that met them on their arrival at hisgrandfather's home, and the exclamation of fury on the part of hisfather.

  "It is a common enough story with us here," the burgomaster said,"for few of us but have lost friends or relatives at the handsof these murderous tyrants of ours. But to you, living in a freeland, truly it must have been a dreadful shock; and I wonder notthat your father's indignation betrayed him into words which, ifoverheard, might well cost a man his life in this country."

  "They were overheard and reported," Ned said; and then proceeded torelate the warning they had received, the measures they had takento get off unperceived, the accidental meeting with the guard boatand the way in which it had been sunk, the pursuit by the galleysand the fight with them, and then the encounter with the Spanishship of war.

  "And you say your father never relaxed his hold of the tiller whenstruck!" the burgomaster said in surprise. "I should have thoughthe must needs have fallen headlong to the ground."

  "He told me," Ned replied, "that at the moment he was hit he waspushing over the tiller, and had his weight partly on that andpartly on his other leg. Had it been otherwise he would of coursehave gone down, for he said that for a moment he thought his leghad been shot off."

  When Ned finished his narrative the burgomaster and magistrateswere loud in their exclamations of admiration at the manner inwhich the little trader had both fought and deceived her powerfulopponent.

  "It was gallantly done indeed," the burgomaster said. "Truly itseems marvellous that a little ship with but twenty hands shouldhave fought and got safely away from the Don Pedro, for that wasthe ship we saw pass this afternoon. We know her well, for she hasoften been in port here before we declared for the Prince of Orangea month ago. The beggars of the sea themselves could not have donebetter,--could t
hey, my friends? though we Dutchmen and Zeelandersbelieve that there are no sailors that can match our own."

  The story had taken nearly an hour to tell, and Ned now said:

  "With your permission, sir, I will now go up to my father again."

  "You had best not go for the present," the burgomaster said. "Thedoctor asked me to keep you with me for awhile, for that he wishedhis patient to be entirely undisturbed. He is by his bedside now,and will let me know at once if your father wishes to have you withhim."

  A quarter of an hour later a servant called the burgomaster out.The surgeon was waiting outside.

  "It is finished," he said, "and he has borne it well. Scarce agroan escaped him, even when we applied the hot irons; but he isutterly exhausted now, and we have given him an opiate, and hopethat he will soon drop off to sleep. My colleague will remain withhim for four hours, and then I will return and take his place. Youhad best say nothing to the lad about it. He would naturally wantto see his father; we would much rather that he should not. Thereforetell him, please, that his father is dropping off to sleep, andmust not on any account be disturbed; and that we are sitting upwith him by turns, and will let him know at once should there beany occasion for his presence."

  Ned was glad to hear that his father was likely to get off tosleep; and although he would gladly have sat up with him, he knewthat it was much better that he should have the surgeon beside him.The burgomaster's wife, a kind and motherly woman, took him asideinto a little parlour, where a table was laid with a cold capon,some manchets of bread, and a flask of the burgomaster's best wine.As Ned had eaten nothing since the afternoon, and it was now pastmidnight, he was by no means sorry to partake of some refreshment.When he had finished he was conducted to a comfortable little chamberthat had been prepared for him, and in spite of his anxiety abouthis father it was not long before he fell asleep.

  The sun was high before he awoke. He dressed himself quickly andwent downstairs, for he feared to go straight to his father's roomlest he might be sleeping.

  "You have slept well," the burgomaster's wife said with a smile;"and no wonder, after your fatigues. The surgeon has just gone,and I was about to send up to wake you, for he told me to tell youthat your father had passed a good night, and that you can now seehim."

  Ned ran upstairs, and turning the handle of the door very quietlyentered his father's room. Captain Martin was looking very pale,but Ned thought that his face had not the drawn look that had markedit the evening before.

  "How are you, my dear father?"

  "I am going on well, Ned; at least so the doctors say. I feel Ishall be but a battered old hulk when I get about again; but yourmother will not mind that, I know."

  "And do the doctors still think that they must take the leg off?"Ned asked hesitatingly.

  "That was their opinion last night, Ned, and it was my opinion too;and so the matter was done off hand, and there is an end of it."

  "Done offhand?" Ned repeated. "Do you mean"--and he hesitated.

  "Do I mean that they have taken it off? Certainly I do, Ned. Theytook it off last night while you were downstairs in the burgomaster'sparlour; but I thought it would be much better for you not to knowanything about it until this morning. Yes, my boy, thank God, itis all over! I don't say that it wasn't pretty hard to bear; butit had to be done, you know, and the sooner it was over the better.There is nothing worse than lying thinking about a thing."

  Ned was too affected to speak; but with tears streaming down hischeeks, leant over and kissed his father. The news had come as ashock to him, but it seemed to have lifted a weight from his mind.The worst was over now; and although it was terrible to think thathis father had lost his leg, still this seemed a minor evil afterthe fear that perhaps his life might be sacrificed. Knowing that hisfather should not be excited, or even talk more than was absolutelynecessary, Ned stayed but a few minutes with him, and then hurriedoff to the ship, where, however, he found that the news that thecaptain's leg had been amputated, and that the doctors hoped thathe would go on well, had been known some hours before; as Petershad come on shore with the first dawn of daylight for news, andheard from the burgomaster's servant that the amputation had takenplace the evening before, and an hour later had learned from thelips of the doctor who had been watching by the captain's bedside,that he had passed a fairly good night, and might so far be consideredto be doing well.

  "What do you think we had better do, Master Ned? Of course it willbe for the captain to decide; but in these matters it is alwaysbest to take counsel beforehand. For although it is, of course,what he thinks in the matter will be done, still it may be thatwe might direct his thoughts; and the less thinking he does in hispresent state the better."

  "What do you mean as to what is to be done, Peters?"

  "Well, your father is like to be here many weeks; indeed, if I saidmany months I don't suppose it would be far from the truth. Thingsnever go on quite smooth. There are sure to be inflammations,and fever keeps on coming and going; and if the doctor says threemonths, like enough it is six."

  "Of course I shall stay here and nurse him, Peters."

  "Well, Master Ned, that will be one of the points for the captainto settle. I do not suppose he will want the Good Venture to belying idle all the time he is laid up; and though I can sail theship, the trading business is altogether out of my line. You knowall the merchants he does business with, going ashore, as you mostalways do with him; I doubt not that you could fill his place anddeal with them just the same as if he was here."

  "But I cannot leave him at present."

  "No, no, Master Ned; no one would think of it. Now, what I havebeen turning over in my mind is, that the best thing for the captainand for you and your good mother is that I should set sail in theVenture without the loss of a day and fetch her over. If the windis reasonable, and we have good luck, we may be back in ten daysor so. By that time the captain may be well enough to think wherewe had better go for a cargo, and what course had best be takenabout things in general."

  "I think that would certainly be the best plan, Peters; and I willsuggest it to my father at once. He is much more likely to go onwell if my mother is with him, and she would be worrying sadly athome were she not by his side. Besides, it will be well for herto have something to occupy her, for the news of what has befallenher father and brothers will be a terrible blow to her. If I putit in that way to him I doubt not that he will agree to the plan;otherwise, he might fear to bring her out here in such troubledtimes, for there is no saying when the Spaniards will gather theirarmy to recover the revolted cities, or against which they willfirst make their attempts. I will go back at once, and if he beawake I will tell him that you and I agree that it will be bestfor you to sail without loss of an hour to fetch my mother over,and that we can then put off talking about other matters until theship returns."

  Ned at once went back to his father's bedroom. He found the captainhad just awoke from a short sleep.

  "Father, I do not want to trouble you to think at present, but willtell you what Master Peters and I, who have been laying our headstogether, concluded is best to be done. You are likely to be laidup here for some time, and it will be far the best plan for theGood Venture to sail over and fetch mother to nurse you."

  "I shall get on well enough, Ned. They are kindly people here; andregarding our fight with the Spaniards as a sign of our friendshipand goodwill towards them, they will do all in their power for me."

  "Yes, father, I hope, indeed, that you will go on well; and I amsure that the good people here will do their best in all ways foryou, and of course I will nurse you to the best of my power, though,indeed, this is new work for me; but it was not so much you asmother that we were thinking of. It will be terrible for her whenthe news comes that her father and brothers are all killed, and thatyou are lying here sorely wounded. It will be well nigh enough todrive her distraught. But if she were to come over here at onceshe would, while busying about you, have less time to brood overher griefs; and, indeed
, I see not why she should be told what hashappened at Vordwyk until she is here with you, and you can breakit to her. It will come better from your lips, and for your sakeshe will restrain her grief."

  "There is a great deal in what you say, Ned, and, indeed, I longgreatly to have her with me; but Holland is no place at presentto bring a woman to, and I suppose also that she would bring thegirls, for she could not well leave them in a house alone. Thereare plenty of friends there who would be glad to take them in; butthat she could decide upon herself. However, as she is a nativehere she will probably consider she may well run the same risks asthe rest of her countrywomen. They remain with their fathers andhusbands and endure what perils there may be, and she will see noreason why she should not do the same."

  "What we propose is that the Venture should set sail at once andfetch my mother over, and the girls, if she sees fit to bring them.I shall of course stay here with you until the brig returns, andby that time you will, I hope, be strong enough to talk over whathad best be done regarding the ship and business generally."

  "Well, have your way, Ned. At present I cannot think over thingsand see what is best; so I will leave the matter in your hands, andtruly I should be glad indeed to have your mother here with me."

  Well content to have obtained the permission Ned hurried from theroom.

  "Has the burgomaster returned?" he asked when he reached the lowerstorey.

  "He has just come in, and I was coming up to tell you that dinneris served."

  "Is it eleven o'clock already?" Ned exclaimed. "I had no idea itwas so late." He entered the room and bowed to the burgomaster andhis wife.

  "Worshipful sir," he said, "I have just obtained leave from myfather to send our ship off to London to fetch hither my mother tocome to nurse him. I trust that by the time she arrives he will beable to be moved, and then they will take lodgings elsewhere, soas not to trespass longer upon your great kindness and hospitality."

  "I think that it is well that your mother should come over," theburgomaster said; "for a man who has had the greater part of hisleg taken off cannot be expected to get round quickly. Besides,after what you told us last night about the misfortune that hasbefallen her family, it were best that she should be busied abouther husband, and so have little time to brood over the matter. Asto hospitality, it would be strange indeed if we should not do allthat we could for a brave man who has been injured in fighting ourcommon enemy. Send word to your mother that she will be as welcomeas he is, and that we shall be ready in all respects to arrangewhatever she may think most convenient and comfortable. And nowyou had best sit down and have your meal with us. As soon as it isover I will go down with you to the wharf, and will do what I canto hasten the sailing of your ship. I don't think," he went on, whenthey had taken their seats at table, "that there is much chanceof her meeting another Spaniard on her way out to sea, for we havenews this morning that some ships of the beggars have been seencruising off the entrance, and the Spaniards will be getting undershelter of their batteries at Amsterdam. I hear they are expectinga fleet from Spain to arrive soon to aid in their operations againstour ports. However, I have little fear that they will do much bysea against us. I would we could hold our own as well on the landas we can on the water."

  Ned found the meal extremely long and tedious, for he was frettingto be off to hasten the preparations on board the Good Venture,and he was delighted when at last the burgomaster said:

  "Now, my young friend, we will go down to the wharf together."

  But although somewhat deliberate, the burgomaster proved a valuableassistant. When he had told Ned that he would do what he could toexpedite the sailing of the ship, the lad had regarded it as a mereform of words, for he did not see how he could in any way expediteher sailing. As soon, however, as they had gone on board, andNed had told Peters that the captain had given his consent to hissailing at once, the burgomaster said: "You can scarce set sailbefore the tide turns, Master Peters, for the wind is so light thatyou would make but little progress if you did. From what MasterMartin tells me you came off so hurriedly from Amsterdam that youhad no time to get ballast on board. It would be very venturesometo start for a voyage to England unless with something in yourhold. I will give orders that you shall be furnished at once withsandbags, otherwise you would have to wait your turn with the othervessels lying here; for ballast is, as you know, a rare commodityin Holland, and we do not like parting even with our sand hills.In the meantime, as you have well nigh six hours before you getunder way, I will go round among my friends and see if I cannotprocure you a little cargo that may pay some of the expenses ofyour voyage."

  Accordingly the burgomaster proceeded at once to visit several ofthe principal merchants, and, representing that it was the clearduty of the townsfolk to do what they could for the men who hadfought so bravely against the Spaniards, he succeeded in obtainingfrom them a considerable quantity of freight upon good terms; andso zealously did he push the business that in a very short timedrays began to arrive alongside the Good Venture, and a number ofmen were speedily at work in transferring the contents to her hold,and before evening she had taken on board a goodly amount of cargo.

  Ned wrote a letter to his mother telling her what had taken place,and saying that his father would be glad for her to come over tobe with him, but that he left it to her to decide whether to bringthe girls over or not. He said no word of the events at Vordwyk;but merely mentioned they had learned that a spy had denounced hisfather to the Spaniards as having used expressions hostile to theking and the religious persecutions, and that on this account hewould have been arrested had he not at once put to sea. Peters wascharged to say nothing as to what he had heard about the Plomaertsunless she pressed him with questions. He was to report brieflythat they were so busy with the unloading of the ship at Amsterdamthat Captain Martin had only once been ashore, and leave it to beinferred that he only landed to see the merchants to whom the cargowas consigned.

  "Of course, Peters, if my mother presses you as to whether anynews has been received from Vordwyk, you must tell the truth; butif it can be concealed from her it will be much the best. She willhave anxiety enough concerning my father."

  "I will see," Peters said, "what can be done. Doubtless at firstshe will be so filled with the thought of your father's dangerthat she will not think much of anything else; but on the voyageshe will have time to turn her thoughts in other directions, and sheis well nigh sure to ask about her father and brothers. I shall beguided in my answers by her condition. Mistress Martin is a sensiblewoman, and not a girl who will fly into hysterics and rave like amadwoman.

  "It may be too, she will feel the one blow less for being so takenup with the other; however, I will do the best I can in the matter,Master Ned. Truly your friend the burgomaster is doing us rightgood service. I had looked to lose this voyage to England, and thatthe ten days I should be away would be fairly lost time; but now,although we shall not have a full hold, the freight will be ampleto pay all expenses and to leave a good profit beside."

  As soon as the tide turned the hatches were put on, the vessel waswarped out from her berth, and a few minutes later was under sail.

  Ned had been busy helping to stow away the cargo as fast as itcame on board, twice running up to see how his father was gettingon. Each time he was told by the woman whom the burgomaster hadnow engaged to act as nurse, that he was sleeping quietly. When hereturned after seeing the Good Venture fairly under way, he foundon peeping quietly into the room that Captain Martin had just woke.

  "I have had a nice sleep, Ned," he said, as the lad went up to hisbedside. "I see it is already getting dark. Has the brig sailed?"

  "She has just gone out of port, father. The wind is light and itwas no use starting until tide turned; although, indeed, the tidesare of no great account in these inland waters. Still, we had totake some ballast on board as our hold was empty, and they mightmeet with storms on their way home; so they had to wait for that.But, indeed, after all, they took in but little ballast
, for theburgomaster bestirred himself so warmly in our favour that themerchants sent down goods as fast as we could get them on board,and short as the time was, the main hold was well nigh half fullbefore we put on the hatches; so that her voyage home will not bewithout a good profit after all."

  "That is good news, Ned; for although as far as I am concerned themoney is of no great consequence one way or the other, I am butpart owner, and the others might well complain at my sending theship home empty to fetch my wife instead of attending to theirinterests."

  "I am sure they would not have done that, father, seeing how wellyou do for them, and what good money the Venture earns. Why, Ihave heard you say she returns her value every two years. So thatthey might well have gone without a fortnight's earnings withoutmurmuring."

  "I don't suppose they would have murmured, Ned, for they are allgood friends of mine, and always seem well pleased with what I dofor them. Still, in matters of business it is always well to bestrict and regular; and I should have deemed it my duty to havecalculated the usual earnings of the ship for the time she wasaway, and to have paid my partners their share as if she had beentrading as usual. It is not because the ship is half mine and thatI and my partners make good profit out of her, that I have a rightto divert her from her trade for my own purposes. As you say, mypartners might be well content to let me do so; but that is notthe question, I should not be content myself.

  "We should always in business work with a good conscience, beingmore particular about the interests of those who trust us than ofour own. Indeed, on the bare ground of expediency it is best to doso; for then, if misfortune happens, trade goes bad, or your vesselis cast away, they will make good allowance for you, knowing thatyou are a loser as well as they, and that at all times you havethought as much of them as of yourself. Lay this always to heart,lad. It is unlikely that I shall go to sea much more, and ere longyou will be in command of the Good Venture. Always think more ofthe interests of those who trust you than of your own.

  "They have put their money into the ship, relying upon theirpartner's skill and honesty and courage. Even at a loss to yourselfyou should show them always that this confidence is not misplaced.Do your duty and a little more, lad. Most men do their duty. It isthe little more that makes the difference between one man and theother. I have tried always to do a little more, and I have foundmy benefit from it in the confidence and trust of my partners inthe ship, and of the merchants with whom I do business. However, Iam right glad that the ship is not going back empty. I shall reckonhow much we should have received for the freight that was promisedme at Amsterdam, then you will give me an account of what is to bepaid by the merchants here. The difference I shall make up, as isonly right, seeing that it is entirely from my own imprudence inexpressing my opinion upon affairs particular to myself, and inno way connected with the ship, that I was forced to leave withouttaking in that cargo."

  Ned listened in silence to his father's words, and resolved tolay to heart the lessons they conveyed. He was proud of the highstanding and estimation in which his father was held by all whoknew him, and he now recognized fully for the first time how hehad won that estimation. It was not only that he was a good sailor,but that in all things men were assured that his honour couldbe implicitly relied upon, and that he placed the interest of hisemployers beyond his own.

  After the first day or two Ned could see but little change in hisfather's condition; he was very weak and low, and spoke but seldom.Doubtless his bodily condition was aggravated now by the thoughtthat must be ever present to him--that his active career wasterminated. He might, indeed, be able when once completely curedto go to sea again, but he would no longer be the active sailor hehad been; able to set an example of energy to his men when the windsblew high and the ship was in danger. And unless fully consciousthat he was equal to discharging all the duties of his position,Captain Martin was not the man to continue to hold it.

  Ned longed anxiously for the return of the Good Venture. He knewthat his mother's presence would do much for his father, and thatwhatever her own sorrows might be she would cheer him. CaptainMartin never expressed any impatience for her coming; but wheneach morning he asked Ned, the first thing, which way the wind wasblowing, his son knew well enough what he was thinking of. In themeantime Ned had been making inquiries, and he arranged for thehire of a comfortable house, whose inhabitants being Catholics,had, when Enkhuizen declared for the Prince of Orange, removedto Amsterdam. For although the Prince insisted most earnestly andvigorously that religious toleration should be extended to theCatholics, and that no one should suffer for their religion, all werenot so tolerant; and when the news arrived of wholesale massacresof Protestants by Alva's troops, the lower class were apt to risein riot, and to retaliate by the destruction of the property ofthe Catholics in their towns.

  Ned had therefore no difficulty in obtaining the use of the house,on extremely moderate terms, from the agent in whose hands itsowner had placed his affairs in Enkhuizen. The burgomaster's wifehad at his request engaged two female servants, and the nursewould of course accompany her patient. The burgomaster and his wifehad both protested against any move being made; but Ned, althoughthanking them earnestly for their hospitable offer, pointed out thatit might be a long time before his father could be about, that itwas good for his mother to have the occupation of seeing to theaffairs of the house to divert her thoughts from the sick bed, and,as it was by no means improbable that she would bring his sisterswith her, it would be better in all respects that they should havea house of their own. The doctors having been consulted, agreedthat it would be better for the wounded man to be among his ownpeople, and that no harm would come of removing him carefully toanother house.

  "A change, even a slight one, is often a benefit," they agreed;"and more than counterbalances any slight risk that there may bein a patient's removal from one place to another, providing thatit be gently and carefully managed."

  Therefore it was arranged that as soon as the Good Venture was seenapproaching, Captain Martin should be carried to his new abode, whereeverything was kept prepared for him, and that his wife should godirect to him there.