" tell me what it is , " said the seal catcher , " and i will do it , if it lies within my power . " " follow me , " answered his guide , and he led the way to the door through which he had disappeared when he went to seek the knife . the seal catcher followed him . and there , in a smaller room , he found a great brown seal lying on a bed of pale pink sea - weed , with a gaping wound in his side . " that is my father , " said his guide , " who you wounded this morning , thinking that he was one of the common seals who live in the sea , instead of a merman who has speech , and understanding , as you mortals have . i brought you here to bind up his wounds , for no other hand than yours can heal him . " " i have no skill in the art of healing , " said the seal catcher , astonished at the forbearance of these strange creatures , whom he had so unwittingly wronged ; " but i will bind up the wound to the best of my power , and i am only sorry that it was my hands that caused it . "
the guide 's father .
who was lying on a bed of pale pink sea-weed, with a gaping wound in his side ?
who was lying on a bed of pale pink sea-weed, with a gaping wound in his side ?