Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. AN AUCTION IN THE BIG DORMITORY. ]UR agitation was too great to escape notice. Old Dan and his son?a brawny young fisherman only some five or six years our senior?regarded us with looks of amazement.
What be it, sirs ? cried the former. Harry slowly read the message aloud, and turned to me with a look of inquiry which I answered with a nod. Then he told our two honest-hearted humble friends what the message meant to himself and to me. Almost everybody in the place knew why it was that we always spent our holidays at school instead of going home like the other boys?Dan and Joe were certainly no strangers to the fact that it was because we had no home to go to. They knew from ourselves all that we had ever known about our uncle Gabriel? so a very few words sufficed to make them understand what the definite news of the loss of the Eastern Starwith Major Bengough on board meant after the ultimatum that had been delivered to us that morning. That must be our last night at Beechy Bay?tomorrow morning we must pack up the few things belonging to us and go?where ? We won’t eat the bread of charity from his table, Rafe, any way, said Harry in a rather choky voice.
No, old chap?we’ll starve first. Dan and Joe said very little, but as they walked up the beach with us towards the school gates a weight seemed to be on the mind of each. Perhaps it was just this weight on their minds that kept their tongues so silent.
Good-night, Dan?and good-bye. With similar words I offered my hand to Joe, as Harry extended his to Joe’s father. Good-night, sir, and good-night, Master Rafe?but not good-bye yet. We shall be sort of standing by tomorrow all day?p'raps two pairs o’ willing hands might come in useful in the matter o’ boxes, and so on. …
