"I didn't know but mebbe you was buyin' it for Captain Burgess," he
hazarded. "He's boardin' to your house, an' folks say he's courtin'
M'lissy Macy."
"Folks is always sayin' things," responded Abner. "Mebbe Enoch might
know a 'Guide to Courtship and Matrimony' from a last year's pill
almanac, if somebody showed him."
Once around the corner of the beach from Pegleg's shanty, Abner
danced a hornpipe, shocking a flock of gulls.
"Thirty-five cents from twenty-five dollars leaves twenty-four
dollars and sixty-five cents," he calculated swiftly. "And I'll get
a mess of clams beside. The papers will be mentionin' me as a
financier pretty soon."
"Did Pegleg suspect anything?" was Captain Enoch's first question
when Abner returned in triumph.
"Oh, he suspected," replied Abner jubilantly. "He wouldn't be Pegleg
if he didn't. But I didn't help him any, and he looked dreadful
disappointed. You can eat your chowder in peace, if you ain't so
love sick you've lost your appetite."
"It ain't hurt my appetite a mite," retorted the Captain. "And I
ain't goin' to let it.
Pages:
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84