Cap'n Dan's Daughter

eck! Turn out t

ack in the fo'castle of the Sea Mist, the bark in which he had made his first voyage. Th

all hands

ream. It belonged to Captain Jerry, and the tone

! What's the mat

ok out of the window, and you can see. They're

t out his head. The wind had changed to the eastward, and a thick fog had come in with it. The house was surrounded by a wet, black wall, b

aimed to sleeping Orham that Young America was celebrating the anniversary of its birth. Since then, on nights before the Fourth, Captain Jerry had slept in the schoolhouse, armed with a horsewhip and an ancient navy revolver. The revolver was strict

ht be, he was ringing as though it was his only hope for life, and the bell swung back and

ling up the stairs, bre

make it out to

fice. Looks 's if it might be

a lamp and was pulling o

er of the trio from the dining room b

d into a faded pea-jacket and clattered down

e came into the dining room, "I th

ke Captain Jerry's hat cover his own cranium a

n my feet besides them socks, if

ities in blank astonishment. "Well, now,"

be quick. There's you

f his chamber, and Captain Eri glanced at the

the bell, the night was very still. The fog was heavy and wet, and the trees and bushes dripped as if from a shower. There was the salt smell of the marshe

ped Captain Jerry. "Don't run so, Eri. It's too

and gone to bed, dodged through the yard of the tightly shuttered summer hotel, an

tain Perez, who was in the lead. "It's W

eft in the direction of the Baxter homestea

ot and became part of a crowd of oddly dress

as lumbering along with a wooden bucket in one hand and t

tell me. Every man's got to do his part if they're going to save i

osed in town-meeting any attempt to purchase a hand engine, this was

e of men with buckets were pouring water on the roof. The line extended to the town pump, where two energetic youths in their shirtsleeves were working the handle with mig

t of the fire, it, too, was out of the question. A man appeared at the open front window of the second story with his arms filled with bottles of various liquids, "original packages" and others. These, with feverish energy, he threw one by one into the street, endangering the lives of everyone in range and, of course, breaking every bottle

dly demanding more water, and then stopping to swear at the bottle-thrower or some other enthusiast. "Web's" smoothness w

eeve as he was running past and

ore I git through I'll know WHO started it. Somebody 'll p

in the situation at once. Back of the main portion of the saloon was an ell, and it was in this ell that the fire had started. The ell, itself, was in a bright

main part here. Maybe, if we had some ropes we might be abl

eply. "She's all ablaze, and a rope would burn

shop. He's got a whole lot of 'em. Keep on wit

on a run after ropes, while as many more stormed at the door of Nathaniel Rogers' blacksmith shop. Rogers was the local d

gers himself came struggling to the defense of his property. In conce

oared one of the leaders. "He's got to le

that door, I'll have the law onto you. I just had that

us energy, but they waited while Mr. Rogers, still protesting, produced the key and unlocked the door.

to cut a hole through the side of the saloon in order to get out the pool table. After some endeavor he persuaded them to desist and they came around to the rear and, taking turns, ran in close to the shed and chopped at it until the fire drove them away. At last they made a hole close to where it jo

yawned away from the saloon, tottered, and collapsed in a shower of sparks. A deluge of water soon extinguished these. Then

d been in his mind since he first saw the blaze. He found Captain Jerry and Captain Perez perspiringly

u fellers seen Joh

hen some of the trouble discernible i

seen him, now you speak of it. Everybod

seen him, e

d me have been right here by the pump ever sence we come. He might be 'most any

or let 'em know you've thought of him. If anybody should ask, tell 'em you guess he's

king carefully at each person. The Reverend Perley and some of his flock were stan

ou must be tired pretty nigh to death. Ain't it awful! But it's the Lord's doin's; I'm jes

Cap'n?" interrupted

"jest walkin' around to git c

rawl, would be out this night, and if the old puritan hermit of the big house was not present to exult over the dow

ly, were seated beside her. Another, the youngest of the family, was being rocked soothingly in the arms of a stout female, who was sin

ow!" exclaime

n folded up to keep it out of the dew, and, still humming softly to the child, walked off a little way, motioning with

t is over now, isn't it? I saw you workin'

?" asked the Captain somewha

was with him. He used to run a coal vessel, you know. I got right up and packed my bag, 'cause I didn't know how the fire m

?" nodding toward the wife of the

and of hers! He's a nice one, he is! Would you b'lieve it, he come along and she spoke to him, and he swore at her somethin' dreadful. That's why she's cryin'. Poor critter, I guess by the looks she's used to it. Well, I give HIM a piece of my mind. He went away with a flea in

o where Mrs. Saunders sat, and the Captain

and then repeated it. Th

nd he determined to have one look there before going to the Baxter homestead. Almost the first man he saw as he approached the dyin

a while, wasn't it? They tell me you were the man who suggest

e yourself. Was you one of the fellers

with an ax and stayed there till I thought he'd burn the hair off his head. Web ought to pay

ble out," laughed Ralph. "They did

"I wish somebody'd took a photograph of him. I'll bet you could se

ou. I may as well be getting down toward t

ine. I've got an errand to do. Prob'l

here a while longer then

saw that the light in the Baxter homestead had not been extinguished. The schoolhouse bell had ce

dining-room door was locked. The kitchen door, however, was not fastened and the Captain opened i

the big clock. Captain Eri scratched a match and by its light climbed the stairs. His friend's room was

crowd at the fire. Where was he? There was, of course, a chance that his friend had passed him on the way or that he had been at the fire, afte

urry sometimes avoided the corner by climbing the fence opposite the Baxter gate, going through the Dawes' pasture and

where his friend was and what he had been doing that night, trotted through the pasture and ove

arcely scratch the match that he took from his pocket. But it was lighted at last and, as its tiny blaze grew brighter, the Ca