"To come to the point, Comethup, your aunt thinks that it would be wiser for you to mix with boys of your own age, and she intends to send you to school. She has already selected a good school, and----" "And look here, Prince Charming," broke in the old woman, "I think I know my boy well enough by this time to know that he'll do whatever we think best, for his own sake as well as for ours. The captain here has told you very prettily why we think it's necessary; just let me say that if you don't like it when you get there, you can just come straight back again. I'm sure you're brave enough to like it, and to make the best of it, although you're only a little chap. And you shall come to me every holiday--oh, they've got precious long holidays, I can tell you--and you shall see the captain whenever you like. This school is only a few miles from your old home, and is right close to the sea. Of course I don't know, but I should think it's extremely likely that our good friend here might find time to run over to see you occasionally on half holidays." "Most assuredly," said the captain. "Well, what do you say to it all?" inquired Miss Carlaw. Comethup's heart had been beating a little faster than usual while they spoke; but the prospect was really more alluring than they thought, and the pill they desired him to swallow needed no gilding, for the boy's life had been recently an unnatural one--strange and wonderful, but still unnatural; and the prospect of meeting boys of his own age, the greater prospect of learning something, and becoming a clever man, made his heart leap indeed. Then, too, the thought of frequently meeting the captain, of being within but a few miles of him, was attractive; he could scarcely hope for better fortune. After a pause he said slowly: "Of course, I should like to go to school, and--and learn; and it would be nice to see the captain, and to come back to you for the holidays. I'm quite sure I should like it." Miss Carlaw clapped her hands and smiled. The captain nodded at the boy approvingly. "I knew just what he'd say," exclaimed Miss Carlaw.--"Come here, Prince Charming." The boy slipped down from his seat and went to her side. She drew her arm about him and said, with a tenderness that was strange to her: "You mustn't think, Comethup, that I want to get rid of you--God forbid! But you're all I have in the world, all I've got to think of or to be proud of. And I want you to be a clever man; I want to be able to point to you and say: 'There's my boy; match him if you can!' That's what I want to think. And so you'll work hard and grow fast, and this foolish old aunt of yours will wait at home in patience until you come back to her." Her voice had fallen almost to a whisper, and he felt her lips lightly touch his hair before she pushed him gently from her.