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Cooper, James A.

"Cap'n Abe, Storekeeper"

The Boston
Chamber of Commerce had heard no further word of the schooner. Louise
and the captain could only hope.
The world of seafaring is so filled with mysteries like this of the
_Curlew_, that Louise knew well that no further word might ever be
received of the vessel.
Cap'n Amazon rang the changes daily--almost hourly--upon sea escapes
and rescues. He related dozens of tales (of course with the personal
note in most), showing how ships' companies had escaped the threat of
disaster in marvelous and almost unbelievable ways.
Louise had not the heart now to stop this flow of narrative by telling
him bluntly that she doubted the authenticity of his tales. Nor would
she look into the old books again to search out the originals of the
stories which flowed so glibly from his lips.
Who and what he could really be puzzled Louise quite as much as before;
yet she had not the heart to probe the mystery with either question or
personal scrutiny. The uncertainty regarding the _Curlew_ and those on
board filled so much of the girl's thought that little else disturbed
her.


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