"Nice young people," announced the captain, who was in a sympathetic
mood. "There has been some reason for thinking that they meant to take
up with each other for good and all. I don't know that either of them
could do better, though I like the girl best; that's natural; she's my
brother's daughter, and I was her guardian; she only came of age last
year. Her father and yours were boys together, younger than I am by a
dozen years, both gone before me too," sighed the captain, and quickly
changed so sad a subject by directing his companion's attention to one
of the old houses, and telling the story of it as they walked along.
Luckily they had the Highflyer all to themselves when they reached the
wharf, for the keeper had gone up into the town, and his wife, who had
set up a frugal housekeeping in the captain's cabin, sat in the shade
of the house with her sewing, the Monday's washing having been early
spread to the breeze in a corner of the main deck. She accepted
Captain Parish's explanations of his presence with equanimity, and
seemed surprised and amused at the young landswoman's curiosity and
eagerness, for a ship was as commonplace to herself as any farm-house
ashore.
"Dear me! you wouldn't know it was the same place," said the captain,
in the course of his enumeration of the ropes and yards and other
mysterious furnishings of the old craft. "With a good crew aboard,
this deck is as busy as a town every day. I don't know how I'm going
below until the keeper gets back.
Pages:
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234