Ben shook the teacher's hand. Then he sat down on one of the large rocks on the beach, setting his hand down first to support him, and sighing loudly as he went down. He was tired and he wasn't the young man he had once been. "Not to be rude to ye. I been out since two this mornin', ye see," he apologized. He couldn't stand up any longer. "Aye, Bram's home. Sorry about that. Our Anne's been sick, and with her sisters gone, we need 'im at home. I'll send 'im back to school when she's better." He looked down at his pipe as he began to fill it with tobacco.