As Tessie ran down Murdoch's Lane she heard the music. Now she was sure what boat it was. The M.V. Christmas Seal was the only boat she knew that played music when it came into port. She arrived just as Captain Peter Troake was easing the M.V. Christmas Seal into the wharf. Everyone was there—children, mothers with babies and even the very old. Tessie saw her grandfather Sam leaning against a barrel. He nodded at her, tapped his pipe against the barrel and searched his shirt for tobacco. Her mother stood next to him. She waved Tessie over. Tessie joined them. Her mother smiled and squeezed Tessie's hand. Tessie saw her little brother Joe running up and down the wharf. He loved boats and he had never seen one quite like the M.V. Christmas Seal.
Credit: Newfoundland and Labrador Lung Association.