第16部分(第4/7 頁)

〃No；　Jack！〃

〃Why；　you　yourself；　old　fellow！　still　you！　always　you！〃　And　Jack's　voice　died　away　in　a　prolonged　〃Hurrah！〃

Harry；　after　this；　applied　himself　diligently；　during　all　his　spare　time；　to　the　work　of　Nell's　education。　He　taught　her　to　read　and　to　write；　and　such　rapid　progress　did　she　make；　it　might　have　been　said　that　she　learnt　by　instinct。　Never　did　keen　intelligence　more　quickly　triumph　over　utter　ignorance。　It　was　the　wonder　of　all　beholders。

Simon　and　Madge　became　every　day　more　and　more　attached　to　their　adopted　child；　whose　former　history　continued　to　puzzle　them　a　good　deal。 They　plainly　saw　the　nature　of　Harry's　feelings　towards　her；　and　were　far　from　displeased　thereat。　They　recollected　that　Simon　had　said　to　the　engineer　on　his　first　visit　to　the　old　cottage；　〃How　can　our　son　ever　think　of　marrying？　Where　could　a　wife

possibly　be　found　suitable　for　a　lad　whose　whole　life　must　be　passed　in　the　depths　of　a　coal　mine？〃

Well！　now　it　seemed　as　if　the　most　desirable　panion　in　the　world　had　been　led　to　him　by　Providence。 Was　not　this　like　a　blessing　direct　from　Heaven？ So　the　old　man　made　up　his　mind　that；　if　the　wedding　did　take　place；　the　miners　of　New　Aberfoyle　should　have　a　merry…making　at　Coal　Town；　which　they　would　never　during　their　lives　forget。　Simon　Ford　little　knew　what　he　was　saying！

It　must　be　remarked　that　another　person　wished　for　this　union　of　Harry　and　Nell　as　much　as　Simon　did……and　that　was　James　Starr；　the　engineer。　Of　course　he　was　really　interested　in　the　happiness　of　the　two　young　people。 But　another　motive；　connected　with　wider　interests；　influenced　him　to　desire　it。

It　has　been　said　that　James　Starr　continued　to　entertain　a　certain　amount　of　apprehension；　although　for　the　present