Chapter 4: Tomorrow

Answer: The stranger who met Captain Hagberd was his son, Harry Hagberd. At first, Captain felt nervous and ignored the stranger as that stranger was talking about his son. The Captain suddenly lost his control when a stranger said, ‘The devil he is!’ The stranger marvelled greatly, and Captain started yelling, his feet squelched in the puddles left by his industry. He stumbled in the holes of the ruined grass plot. He ran blindly against the fence.

Answer: Young Hagberd got a bit concerned over the old Hagberd, and he was confused whether the old Hagberd had identified him or not. And that’s when he changed his tone and told the old Hagberd that ‘You’ve grown a beard like Father Christmas himself.’ The reason for changing the tone was to check if the old Hagberd could not recognize young Hagberd or not.

Answer: The reasons that Bessie gave to encourage old Hagberd in his insane hopes are:

1) Firstly, she told Harry that he should try convincing old Hagberd that he was his only son who went missing from the sea and should get the old Captain back into his normal state.

2) Secondly, Harry Hagberd said, ‘He isn’t frisky—is he? I would be afraid to lay hold of him’. Then to encourage old Hagberd’s insane hope, Bessie tells Harry that “Old Hagberd was the most harmless creature that ever lived”.