The clever lad, even in his infancy,
must have noticed that the wretched apology for a ship which they
offered him was not rigged in seaman-like fashion. Well, I promised
myself that I would make him a model of the "Golden Seahorse", perfect
in every detail, and big enough for him to sail in. When I came into
the nursery he stopped crying and looked at me, but the nurse kept on
saying, "Oh, Master Peter, Master Peter, you must not be naughty like
that," as though she were repeating a formula.
I ran to Master Peter and picked him up, when he tried to bite my hard
hand with his little pearly teeth. Ah, what a lad of spirit he was! He
was not a bit afraid of me or of anyone. A boy after my own heart. Then
he looked at me, and the passion in his rosy face melted into a dimpled
smile. He knew me, I am certain of it, and putting his little arms
round my neck, he seemed to ask pardon for his wilfulness. We were
comrades from that moment, he and I, and although not a word was spoken
we understood each other thoroughly.
Pauline and the nurse watched us. Both women were weeping, as is the
way with women when they seek to relieve their feelings.
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