A stone in the First Church graveyard is
all the visible reminder there remains of Cap'n Amazon Silt, who for
one summer amazed the frequenters of the store on the Shell Road.
The life-savers brought Cap'n Abe, the storekeeper, back from the
wreck, the last survivor of the _Curlew's_ crew. He was in rather bad
shape, for his night's experience on the wreck had been serious indeed.
They put him to bed, and Louise and Betty Gallup took turns in nursing
him, while Cap'n Joab Beecher puttered about the store, trying to wait
on customers and keep things straight.
At first, as he lay in his "cabin," Cap'n Abe did not have much to
say--not even to Louise. But after a couple of days, on an occasion
when she was feeding him broth, he suddenly sputtered and put away the
spoon with a vexed gesture.
"What's the matter, Uncle Abram?" she asked him. "Isn't it good?"
"The soup's all right, Niece Louise. 'Tain't so fillin' as chowder, I
cal'late, but it'll keep a feller on deck for a spell. That ain't it.
I was just a-thinkin'.
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