The girl realized that the arrival of this letter from Cap'n Abe had
finally punctured that bubble of suspicion against the captain that had
been blown overnight. It seemed certain and unshakable proof that the
substitute storekeeper was just whom he claimed to be, and it once and
for all put to death the idea that Cap'n Abe had not gone to sea in the
_Curlew_.
Yet Louise had never been more puzzled since first suspicion had been
roused against Cap'n Amazon. A single sentence in her father's letter
could not be made to jibe with Cap'n Abe's epistle, and therefore she
folded up her own letter and thrust it into her pocket. In speaking of
his companions on shipboard, the professor had written:
"I am by far the oldest person aboard the _Curlew_, skipper included.
They are all young fellows, both for'ard and in the afterguard. Yet
they treat me like one of themselves and I am having a most enjoyable
time."
Cap'n Abe was surely much older than her daddy-prof! It puzzled her.
It troubled her. There was not a moment of that day when it was not
the uppermost thought in her mind.
Pages:
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318