But Captain Jerry mutinied outright. He declared that the sight of that darky had sickened him of marrying forever, and that he would not see the candidate from Nantucket, nor any other candidate. No persuasion could budge him. He simply would not stir from that shanty until the house had been cleared of female visitors.
“Go and see her yourself, if you're so set on it,” he declared. “I shan't!”
“All right,” said Captain Eri calmly. “I will. I'll tell her you're bashful, but jest dyin' to be married, and that she can have you if she only waits long enough.”
With this he turned on his heel and walked out.
“Hold on, Eri!” shouted the frantic Jerry. “Don't you do it! Don't you tell her that! Land of love, Perez, do you s'pose he will?”
“I don't know,” was the answer in a disgusted tone. “You hadn't ought to have been so pig-headed, Jerry.”
Captain Eri, with set teeth and determination written on his face, walked straight to the dining-room door. Drawing a long breath, he opened it and stepped inside. A woman, who had been sitting in Captain Perez' rocker, rose as he entered.
The woman looked at the Captain and the Captain looked at her. She was of middle age, inclined to stoutness, with a pair of keen eyes behind brass-rimmed spectacles, and was dressed in a black “alpaca” gown that was faded a little in places and had been neatly mended in others. She spoke first.
“No, ma'am,” said the Captain uneasily. “My name is Hedge. I'm a sort of messmate of his. You're Miss Snow?”
They shook hands. Mrs. Snow calmly expectant; the Captain very nervous and not knowing how to begin.
“I feel as if I knew you, Cap'n Hedge,” said the widow, as the Captain slid into his own rocker. “The boy on the depot wagon told me a lot about you and Cap'n Ryder and Cap'n Burgess.”
“Did, hey?” The Captain inwardly vowed vengeance on his chum's grandnephew. “Hope he gave us a clean bill.”
“Well, he didn't say nothin' against you, if that's what you mean. If he had, I don't think it would have made much diff'rence. I've lived long enough to want to find out things for myself, and not take folks' say-so.”
The lady seeming to expect some sort of answer to this statement, Captain Eri expressed his opinion that the plan of finding out things for one's self was a good “idee.” Then, after another fidgety silence, he observed that it was a fine evening. There being no dispute on this point, he endeavored to think of something else to say. Mrs. Snow, however, saved him the trouble.