“I wish you'd mind your own consarns, and give me time,” protested Captain Jerry. “Time! How much time do you want? Land of Goshen! I should think you'd had time enough. Why--” “Oh, let up!” snorted the persecuted. “Why don't you git married yourself, and bring Pashy over to keep house? What we started to git in the fust place was jest a wife for one of us that would keep things shipshape, and now--” The withering look of scorn that Perez bent upon him caused him to hesitate and stop. Captain Perez haughtily marched to the door. “Eri,” he said, “I ain't goin' to waste my time talkin' to a--a dogfish like him. He ain't wuth it.” “Hold on, now, Perez!” pleaded the discomfited sacrifice, alarmed at his comrade's threatened desertion. “I was only foolin'. Can't you take a joke? I haven't said I wouldn't do it. I think a heap of Mrs. Snow; it's only that I ain't got the spunk to ask her, that's all.” “Humph! it don't take much spunk,” replied the successful wooer, forgetful of his own past trepidation. “Well,” Captain Jerry wriggled and twisted, but saw no loophole. “Well, give me a month to git up my courage in and--” “A month! A month's ridic'lous; ain't it, Eri” “Yes.” “Well, three weeks, then.” This offer, too, was rejected. Then Captain Jerry held out for a fortnight--for ten days. Finally, it was settled that within one week from that very night he was to offer his heart and hand to the lady from Nantucket. He pledged his solemn word to do it. “There!” exclaimed the gratified Captain Perez. “That's a good job done. He won't never be sorry for it, will he, Eri?” And Captain Eri made his fourth contribution to the conversation. “No,” he said. Josiah went up to the post-office late in the afternoon of the next day. The “able seaman” was behaving himself remarkably well. He had become a real help to Captain Eri, and the latter said that sailing alone would be doubly hard when his foremast hand went back to school again, which he was to do very shortly, for Josiah meant to accept the Captain's offer, and to try for the Annapolis appointment when the time came. The boy came back with the mail and an item of news. The mail, a paper only, he handed to Mrs. Snow, and the news he announced at the supper table as follows: “Mr. Hazeltine's goin' to leave the cable station,” he said. “Goin' to leave!” repeated the housekeeper, “what for?” “I don't know, ma'am. All I know is what I heard Mr. Wingate say. He said Mr. Hazeltine was goin' to get through over at the station pretty soon. He said one of the operators told him so.” “Well, for the land's sake! Did you know anything 'bout it, Eri?” “Why, yes, a little. I met Hazeltine yesterday, and he told me that some folks out West had made him a pretty good offer, and he didn't know whether to take it or not. Said the salary was good, and the whole thing looked sort of temptin'. He hadn't decided what to do yit. That's all there is to it.”