Daisy June continued to twine like a boa constrictor. The Captain retreated and abruptly sat down in the big rocker which occupied the center of the porch. Without hesitation the kitten jumped into his lap. I thought for a second that he was going to push her down, but instead he asked abruptly, "How's your aunt this morning? Much upset, was she?"
I collected my thoughts. "Oh, you mean about Adam," I was beginning, when Eve came up behind me. "Aunt Cal wouldn't allow herself to be upset by so little a thing as that," she said with one of her dazzling smiles. "She's much too--a--strong-minded."
The Captain appeared as surprised as I was to hear this. "Well, well, well," he said, "I want to know!" Mechanically, it seemed, his hand went out to stroke the kitten's back and, thus encouraged, she reached up one fat paw for the large gold chain that spanned his waistcoat. "Hi, there, look at that now! Caliph allus used to go after that chain when he was a kitten. Well," he added, "I'm glad to hear your aunt wasn't upset. Old Judd Craven allus did say she was the only sensible one in the family!"
"What? What's that? Mean to say you ain't never heard of Cap'n Judd? Why, he was related to you in a sort of way."
"Related to me? But how? Do you mean that he was related to Aunt Cal?"
"Mercy me, yes. He was her uncle. Cal's mother was Susan Craven. Cap'n Judd used to set great store by Cal when she was a young one, used to bring her things every time he come back from a voyage."
Eve dropped down on the step. "Do tell us about Captain Judd," she begged. "You see, we were up at the place they call Craven House the other day, so we're interested. Did he build it?"
The Captain shook his head. "No, it was an old house--dates back to the early settlers. Cap'n Judd bought it and made it over. It was one of the show places of the countryside in his day. He fixed it up for his wife, Emily, who wanted to live inland out of sight of the sea. Emily hated the sea. Besides that, Judd had a kind of notion he wanted to go in for farming. It was the dream of his life to found a landed estate like the ones he'd seen in England--handed down from father to son like. But--well, it didn't work out. Carter didn't take to farming; he was a restless chap, wanted to see the world."