A Stranger Came Ashore Read Free Page B

the explanations about Finn Learson had been made; and instantly, Robbie was on his feet.
    â€œI am!” said he. Then off he hurried to the voe with Nicol, firmly putting even the memory of his strange “dream” from his mind, and never thinking he was making the great mistake of his young life in doing so.
    Robbie was in good company with this, however, for everyone in Black Ness made mistakes that morning; and naturally enough, these were the same ones that the Henderson family had already made about Finn Learson.
    No one doubted for a moment that he was indeed a survivor of the wreck, and so there was nothing but sympathy for him. No one asked him any more questions than had already been asked – there was no time for this, since the wreckage was so widely scattered over the voe that everyone was anxious to get it ashore before it could drift even further. Moreover, Finn Learson immediately offered his help in this work; and since Nicol Anderson was the only man there who equalled him in size and strength, this offer was eagerly accepted.
    So, for hours after that, the work went on, with Finn Learson bending his back so willingly to it that there was even greater sympathy for him when the tide eventually brought the bodies of the
Bergen’s
crew washing ashore.
    Old Da Henderson was as good as his word, however, and the bodies were buried just above high-water mark at the point wherethey were found. A stone was placed to mark each grave, a hymn was sung, and Old Da spoke a prayer.
    â€œAmen,” said everyone at the end of this. And that
Amen
was the final word on the wreck of the
Bergen
; for, the way they all saw it then, it was bad enough for a young fellow like Finn Learson to lose all his mates in one night without folk asking questions that would only remind him of this loss.
    There was still the question of what he would do next, however; and so, after supper that night, Peter began, “And what are your plans now, lad? Are you thinking of going back to your own country?”
    â€œNo,” said Finn Learson, taking a sideways glance at the fiddle on the wall. “I’m in no hurry to do that.”
    â€œThen what will you do?” Peter asked. “Will you take ship for another voyage?”
    â€œIndeed, no!” Finn Learson told him. “It’s the land for me for a while.”
    â€œAnd no one could blame you for that!” Peter agreed. “Which means you’ll be here for a few days yet, I suppose – and welcome, I’m sure, if you do not mind our sort of life.”
    â€œFar from that,” Finn Learson assured him. “I think it must be a fine life! A few weeks of it, in fact – or even a few months – would be nearer what I have in mind.”
    Now the Hendersons were hospitable people, but they were also much too poor to be burdened for months with a pair of idle hands and an idle mouth to feed. Yet where was Finn Learson to live if he stayed for months on the island, unless it was with them? None of them had the answer to this question, but Finn Learson guessed the meaning of their silence, and quickly he added, “But I would not expect to stay here for nothing, of course!” With his hand reaching into the pouch of his canvas moneybelt as he said this, he pulled out a coin and laid it on the table; but this only left the Hendersons even more lost for words, for the coin was a largeone and it was made of gold.
    It was also an old coin, so old that the pattern had been rubbed almost smooth; and as they stared in wonder at it, Finn Learson asked anxiously, “Is that not enough?”
    â€œEnough!” Janet exclaimed. “It’s a fortune, man! But where in the world did you get so ancient a coin?”
    â€œOff a sunken treasure ship!” guessed Robbie, thinking that this must certainly be the answer; but his father frowned, and told him, “You talk an awful lot of nonsense, boy.”
    â€œI