Doctor Luke of the Labrador

N >> Norman Duncan >> Doctor Luke of the Labrador

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* * * * *

Skipper Tommy died to-day. 'Twas at the break of dawn. The sea lay
quiet; the sky was flushed with young, rosy colour--all the hues of
hope. We lifted him on the pillows: that from the window he might
watch--far off at sea--the light chase the shadows from the world.

"A new day!" he whispered.

'Twas ever a mystery to him. That there should come new days--that the
deeds of yesterday should be forgot in the shadows of yesterday--that as
the dawn new hope should come unfailing, clean, benignant.

"A new day!" he repeated, turning his mild old face from the placid
sea, a wondering, untroubled question in his eyes.

"Ay, zur--a new day."

He watched the light grow--the hopeful tints spread rejoicing towards
the higher heavens.

"The Lard," he said, "give me work. Blessed be the name o' the Lard!"

All the world was waking.

"The Lard give me pain. Blessed be the name o' the Lard!"

And a breeze came with the dawn--a rising breeze, rippling the purple
sea.

"The Lard give me love," he continued, turning tenderly to the stalwart
twins. "Blessed be the name o' the Lard!"

The wind swept calling by--blue winds, fair winds to the north: calling
at the window, all the while.

"The Lard showed Himself t' me. Oh, ay, that He did," he added, with a
return to his old manner. "'Skipper Tommy,' says the Lard," he
whispered, "'Skipper Tommy,' says He, 'leave you an' Me,' says He, 'be
friends. You'll never regret it, b'y,' says He, 'an you make friends
with Me.' Blessed," he said, his last, low voice tremulous with deep
gratitude, "oh, blessed be the name o' the Lard!"

The wind called again--blithely called: crying at the window. In all
the harbours of our coast, 'twas time to put to sea.

"I wisht," the skipper sighed, "that I'd been--a bit--wickeder. The
wicked," he took pains to explain, "knows the dear Lard's love. An',
somehow, I isn't _feelin'_ it as I should. An' I wisht--I'd sinned--a
wee bit--more."

Still the wind called to him.

"Ecod!" he cried, impatiently, his hand moving feebly to tweak his nose,
but failing by the way. "There I been an' gone an' made another mistake!
Sure, 'tis awful! Will you tell me, Davy Roth, an you can," he demanded,
now possessed of the last flicker of strength, "how I could be wicked
without hurtin' some poor man? Ecod! I'm woeful blind."

He dropped my hand--suddenly: forgetting me utterly. His hands sought
the twins--waving helplessly: and were caught. Whereupon the father
sighed and smiled.

"Dear lads!" he whispered.

The sun rose--a burst of glory--and struck into the room--and blinded
the old eyes.

"I wonder----" the old man gasped, looking once more to the glowing sky.
"I wonder...."

Then he knew.

* * * * *

How unmomentous is the death we die! This passing--this gentle change
from place to place! What was it he said? "'Tis but like wakin' from a
troubled dream. 'Tis like wakin' t' the sunlight of a new, clear day. He
takes our hand. 'The day is broke,' says He. 'Dream no more, but rise,
child o' Mine, an' come into the sunshine with Me.' 'Tis only that
that's comin' t' you--only His gentle touch--an' the waking. Hush! Don't
you go gettin' scared. 'Tis a lovely thing--that's comin' t' you!" ...
And I fancy that the dead pity the living--that they look upon us, in
the shadows of the world, and pity us ... And I know that my mother
waits for me at the gate--that her arms will be the first to enfold me,
her lips the first to touch my cheek. "Davy, dear, my little son," she
will whisper in my ear, "aren't you glad that you, too, are dead?" And I
shall be glad.

* * * * *

Ha! but here's a cheery little gale of wind blowing up the path. 'Tis my
nephew--coming from my father's wharf. Davy, they call him. The sturdy,
curly-pated, blue-eyed lad--Labradorman, every luscious inch of him:
without a drop of weakling blood in his stout little body! There's jolly
purpose in his stride--in his glance at my window. 'Tis a walk on the
Watchman, I'll be bound! The wind's in the west, the sun unclouded, the
sea in a ripple. The day invites us. Why not? The day does not know
that an old man lies dead.... He's at the door. He calls my name. "Uncle
Davy! Hi, b'y! Where is you?" Ecod! but the Heavenly choir will never
thrill me so.... He's on the stair. I must make haste. In a moment his
arms will be round my neck. And----

Here's a large period to my story! The little rascal has upset my bottle
of ink!

THE END

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NORMAN DUNCAN

DR. GRENFELL'S PARISH

16 Illustrations, Cloth, $1.00 net.

_Outlook:_ "It is a series of sketches of Grenfell's work in Labrador. A
very rare picture the author has given of a very rare man: a true story
of adventure which we should like to see in the hands of every boy and
of every man of whatever age who still retains anything of a boyish
heroism in his soul."

_N. Y. Globe_: "Mr. Duncan has given a very moving picture of the
dreadfully hard life of the northern fishermen. He has included dozens
of the little cameos of stories, true stories, as he vouches, full of
human nature as it is exhibited in primitive conditions."

_Congregationalist_: "Norman Duncan draws vivid pictures of the Labrador
and the service which Dr. Grenfell has rendered to its people. It is a
fascinating tale and told with real enthusiasm and charm. The unusual
stage of action and the chivalrous quality of the hero, once known, lay
hold upon the imagination and will not let go."

_Fifth Edition_

By DR. WILFRED T. GRENFELL

THE HARVEST OF THE SEA

16 Illustrations, Cloth, $1.00 net.

_New York Sun_: "Relates the life of the North Sea fisherman on the now
famous Dogger Bank: the cruel apprenticeship, the bitter life, the
gallant deeds of courage and of seamanship, the evils of drink, the work
of the deep sea mission. These are real sea tales that will appeal to
every one who cares for salt water, and are told admirably."

_N. Y. Tribune_: "Dr. Grenfell tells, in fiction form, but with strict
adherence to fact, how the mission to deep sea fishermen came to be
founded among the fishing fleets that frequent the Dogger Bank that has
figured prominently in the recent international complication. It is a
story rich in adventure and eloquent of accomplishments for the
betterment of the men."

_Chicago Tribune_: "It is a plain unvarnished tale of the real life of
the deep sea fishermen and of the efforts which Grenfell's mission makes
to keep before their minds the words of Him who stilled the waters and
who chose His bosom disciples from men such as they."

_Brooklyn Eagle_: "A robust, inspiring book, making us better acquainted
with a man of the right sort, doing a man's work."

_Fifth Edition_

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NORMAN DUNCAN

THE ADVENTURES OF

BILLY TOPSAIL

Illustrated. Cloth, $1.50

A ripping story of adventure by sea is regarded by every true-hearted
boy as the very best story of all. The yarn--that's the thing! If the
sea is a northern sea, full of ice and swept by big gales, if the
adventures are real, if the hero is _not_ a prig, if the tale concerns
itself with heroic deeds and moves like a full-rigged ship with all sail
spread to a rousing breeze, the boy will say "Bully!" and read the story
again. "The Adventures of Billy Topsail" is a book to be chummy with. It
is crowded with adventure, every page of it, from the time young Billy
is nearly drowned by his dog, until in a big blizzard, lost on an
ice-floe, he rescues Sir Archibald's son, and the old _Dictator_
weathers the gale.

There is "something doing" every minute--something exciting and real and
inspiring. The book is big enough and broad enough to make Billy Topsail
a tried friend of every reader--just the sort of friend Archie found him
to be. And Billy is good company. He is _not_ a prig; he is a real boy,
full of spirit and fun and courage and the wish to distinguish himself.
In a word, as the lads say, he's "all right, all right!" He sails,
fishes, travels the ice, goes whaling, is swept to sea with the ice,
captures a devil-fish, hunts a pirates' cave, gets lost on a cliff, is
wrecked, runs away to join a sealer, and makes himself interesting in a
hundred ways. He's a good chum, in calm or gale, on water, ice or
shore--that's what Billy Topsail o' Ruddy Cove is.

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By NORMAN DUNCAN

_Doctor Luke of The Labrador_

12mo, Cloth, $1.50.

_N. Y. Evening Post_: "Mr. Duncan is deserving of much praise for this,
his first novel.... In his descriptive passages Mr. Duncan is sincere to
the smallest detail. His characters are painted in with bold, wide
strokes.... Unlike most first novels, 'Dr. Luke' waxes stronger as it
progresses."

_Henry van Dyke_: "It is a real book, founded on truth and lighted with
imagination, well worth reading and remembering."

_Review of Reviews_: "Mr. Duncan has added a new province to the realm
of literature. This strong, beautiful love story moves with a
distinctive rhythm that is as fresh as it is new. One of the season's
two or three best books."

_Hamilton W. Mabie, in the Ladies' Home Journal_: "Full of incidents,
dramatically told, of the heroism and romance of humble life: strong,
tender, pathetic; one of the most wholesome stories of the season."

_Current Literature_: "Beyond a peradventure, ranks as one of the most
remarkable novels issued in 1904. Stands out so prominently in the
year's fiction that there is little likelihood of its being
overshadowed."

_London Punch_: "Since Thackeray wrote the last word of 'Colonel
Newcome,' nothing finer has been written than the parting scene where
Skipper Tommy Lovejoy, the rugged old fisherman, answers the last call."

_Saturday Evening Post_: "There is enough power in this little volume to
magnetize a dozen of the popular novels of the winter."

_Sir Robert Bond, Premier of Newfoundland_: "I shall prize the book. It
is charmingly written, and faithfully portrays the simple lives of the
noble-hearted fisher folk."

_Brooklyn Eagle_: "Norman Duncan has fulfilled all that was expected of
him in this story; it establishes him beyond question as one of the
strong masters of present-day fiction."

_26th 1000_

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THE HUBBARD EXPLORING EXPEDITION

By DILLON WALLACE

_The Lure of the Labrador Wild_

ILLUSTRATED 8vo CLOTH $1.50 NET.

_New York Sun_: "A remarkable story, and we are much mistaken if it does
not become a classic among tales of exploration."

_Chicago Evening Post_: "Two continents became interested in the stories
that came out of the wild about the hardships of the Hubbard expedition.
Wallace's story and record--they are inseparable--possesses in its naked
truth more of human interest than scores of volumes of imaginative
adventure and romance of the wild."

_Review of Reviews_: "The chronicle of high, noble purpose and
achievement and it appeals to the finest, best, and most virile in man."

_Chicago Record-Herald_: "One of the most fascinating books of travel
and adventure in the annals of recent American exploration. Every man or
boy who has ever heard the 'red gods' of the wilderness calling will
revel in these graphic pages, in which the wild odor of the pines, the
roar of rapids, the thrill of the chase and of thickening dangers come
vividly to the senses."

_New York Evening Post_: "The story is told simply and well. It may be
added that for tragic adventure it has scarcely a parallel except in
Arctic exploration."

_New York Evening Mail_: "A chronicle of the expedition from first to
last, and a fine tribute to the memory of Hubbard, whose spirit
struggled with such pitiable courage against the ravages of a purely
physical breakdown. The story itself is well told."

_Chicago Inter-Ocean_: "In the records of the explorations of recent
years there is no more tragic story than that of Hubbard's attempt to
cross the great unexplored and mysterious region of the northeastern
portion of the North American continent. Wallace himself narrowly
escaped death in the Labrador wild, but, having been rescued, he has
brought out of that unknown land a remarkable story."

_Brooklyn Eagle_: "One of the very best stories of a canoe trip into the
wilds ever written."

_FOURTH EDITION_

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Transcriber's Notes:

1. Punctuation has been normalized to contemporary standards.
2. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
3. Unusual formatting of chapter titles in text has been retained.

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