The Cruise of the Shining Light Part 53

says he, "an' he've seven, all spick an' span," says he, "all s.h.i.+ned an' polished like a cabin door-k.n.o.b!" I had often thought of it, and now dwelt upon it when I left him. I remembered the beginnings of our lives, and I knew that out of the hopelessness some beauty had been wrought, in the way of the G.o.d of us all: which is the moral of my tale.

"Think o' that!" cries Tumm, of the _Quick as Wink_.

I did think of it.

"Think o' that!" he repeated.

I had left Tumm below. I was alone. The night was still black and windy; but of a sudden, as I looked up, the clouds parted, and from the deck of the _Quick as Wink_ I saw, blind of vision as I was, that high over the open sea, hung in the depth and mystery of s.p.a.ce, there was a star....

THE END