Page:Arthur Stringer-The Loom of Destiny.djvu/151

Thicker than Water to its air of desolation. Occasionally, but not often, a cat appeared, and this was always shot at and always missed by the owner of the air-gun.

So Georgie lived a life of absolute and unbroken loneliness, knowing he could find no companionship on the streets, and realising that he was among aliens. He could not help remembering those long golden summer days at Weymouth, where he used to watch the Channel ships going back and forth in the blue distance, and climb the cliffs for eggs, and dig all day in the sand, and have plenty of really very nice little boys to play with.

The world, however, suddenly changed for Georgie. It all happened one warm afternoon, after a day when his solitude had grown unbearable and he had planned to run away to sea. The only trouble was that he did not know where the sea was, and his Uncle Charley had not altogether enlightened him on the subject. It was just like such a country not to have any sea!

Without the least word of warning a big, beautifully painted rubber ball came bounding 139