Early next morning Frank and Handcock returned to Deal, the other
two lads being so exhausted by their fatigue and exposure that the
doctor said they had better remain in bed for another twenty-four
hours.
It is impossible to describe the thankfulness and relief which Mrs.
Hargate experienced, when, about two in the morning, Dr. Parker
himself brought her news of the safety of her boy. She had long
given up all hope, for when the evening came on and Frank had not
returned, she had gone down to the shore. She learned from the
fishermen there that it was deemed impossible that the boys could
reach shore in face of the gale, and that although the lifeboat had
just put out in search of them, the chances of their being found
were, as she herself saw, faint indeed. She had passed the hours
which had intervened, in prayer, and was still kneeling by her
bedside, where little Lucy was unconsciously sleeping, when Dr.
Parker's knock was heard at the door. Fervent, indeed, was her
gratitude to God for the almost miraculous preservation of her son's
life, and then, overcome by the emotions she had experienced, she
sought her couch, and was still asleep when, by the earliest train
in the morning, Frank returned.
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