Diddimus, who still had his doubts of the piratical looking captain,
lay in Louise's lap and purred loudly under the ministration of her
gentle hand, while Cap'n Abe talked.
It was a story that brought to the eyes of the sympathetic girl the
sting of tears as well as bubbling laughter to her lips. And in it all
she found something almost heroic as well as ridiculous.
"My mother marked me," said Cap'n Abe. "Poor mother! I was born with
her awful horror of the ravenin' sea as she saw the Bravo an' Cap'n
Josh go down. I knew it soon--when I was only a little child. I knew
I was set apart from other Silts, who had all been seafarin' men since
the beginnin' of time.
"And yet I loved the sea, Niece Louise. The magic of it, its mystery,
its romance and its wonders; all phases of the sea and seafarin'
charmed me. But I could not step foot in a boat without almost
swoonin' with fright, and the sight of the sea in its might filled me
with terror.
"Ah, me! You can have no idea what pains I suffered as a boy because
of this fear," said Cap'n Abe.
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