"There, there, Judah. I guess I can stand the talk. If it gets too bad I'll put cotton in my ears." "Huh! Cotton! Cotton won't do no good. Have to solder your ears up like--like a leaky tea-kittle, if you wanted to keep from hearin' Susanna Brackett's clack. Why, that brother of hers--Ebenezer Samuels, seems to me his name was. Seems to me they told me that Susanna's name was Samuels afore she married Brackett. Maybe twan't Samuels. Seems to me, now I think of it, as if 'twas Schwartz. Yet it don't hardly seem as if it could be, does it? I guess likely I'm gettin' him mixed with a feller name of Samuel Schwartz that I knew on South Street in New York one time. Run a pawn shop, he did. I remember _that_ Schwartz 'cause he used to _take_ stuff, you know--er--er--same as a Chinaman. One of them oakum eaters, that s what he was--an oakum eater. Why one time he----" Sears never did learn what happened to Mrs. Brackett's brother. Judah's reminiscent fancy, once started, wandered far and wide, and in this case it forgot entirely to return to the missing Samuels--or Schwartz. But Mr. Cahoon expressed himself freely on the subject of his beloved ex-captain and present lodger taking charge of the establishment next door. Sears' explanations and excuses bore little weight. Time and time again that evening Mr. Cahoon would come out of a dismal reverie to exclaim: "Skipper of the Fair Harbor for Mariners' Women! You! Cap'n Sears Kendrick, skipper of _that_ craft! Don't seem possible, somehow, does it?" "Look here Judah," the captain at last said, in desperation, "if you feel so almighty bad about it, perhaps you won't want me here. I can move, you know." Judah turned a horrified face in his direction. "Move!" he repeated "_Don't_ talk so, Cap'n Sears. That's the one comfort I see in the whole business. Livin' right next door to 'em the way you and me do, you can always run into port here if the weather gets too squally over yonder. Yes, sir there'll always be a snug harbor under my lee when the Fair Harbor's too rugged. Eh? Ha, ha!" Just before retiring Sears said, "There's just one thing I want you to do, Judah. You may feel--as I know you do feel--that my takin' this job is a foolish thing. But don't you let any one else know you feel that way." Judah snorted. "Don't you worry, Cap'n Sears," he said. "If any one of them sea lawyers down to Bassett's store gets to heavin' sass at me about your takin' the hellum at the Harbor I'll shut their hatches for 'em. I'll tell 'em the old judge and Lobelia was ondecided between you and Gen'ral Grant for the job, but finally they picked you. Don't mistake me now, Cap'n. Your goin' over there is the best thing for the--the henroost that ever was or ever will be. It's you I'm thinkin' about. It ain't--well, by the crawlin' prophets, 'tain't the kind of berth you've been used to. Now is it, Cap'n Sears?" Kendrick smiled, a one-sided smile.