Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary

The summer after Colin begins school, Harry takes his family on a holiday to the seashore. He had worked two weeks overtime, 16 hours a day instead of eight, in order to get time away. Colin, never having seen the sea before, initially finds it frightening. It only takes a few days for Colin to begin to enjoy the water and start happily playing in it with bucket and pail.

It doesn't take long for the whole family to settle in to this picturesque town where they can watch supply boats come into the harbor, see tourists walk on the beach and finally breathe cleaner air.

While on holiday, Harry runs into an old friend from the coalmine in Saxton. He has joined the army and encourages Harry to do the same, promising that he can get him in a position he'd...