Oh, sailor boy, sailor boy, 'neath the wild billow,
Thy grave is yawnin' and waitin' for thee.
He sang this during the worst of the teething period, and, later, when
the junior partner wrestled with the whooping cough. You could always
tell the state of the baby's health by the Captain's choice of songs.
Meanwhile Dusenberry grew and prospered. He learned to walk and to talk,
after his own peculiar fashion, and, at the mature age of two years and
six months, formally shipped as first mate aboard his father's dory. His
duties in this responsible position were to sit in the stern, securely
fastened by a strap, while the Captain and his two assistants rowed out
over the bar to haul the nets of the deep water fish weir.
The first mate gave the orders, “All hands on deck! 'Tand by to det ship
under way!” There was no “sogerin'” aboard the Hiram Junior--that was
the dory's name--while the first officer had command.
Captain Hiram, always ready to talk of the wonderful baby, told the
depot master of the youngster's latest achievement, which was to get the
cover off the butter firkin in the pantry and cover himself with butter
from head to heel.
“Ho, ho, ho!” he roared, delightedly, “when Sophrony caught him at it,
what do you s'pose he said? Said he was playin' he was a slice of bread
and was spreadin' himself. Haw! haw!”
Captain Sol laughed in sympathy.
“But he didn't mean no harm by it,” explained the proud father. “He's
got the tenderest little heart in the world. When he found his ma felt
bad he bust out cryin' and said he'd scrape it all off again and when it
come prayer time he'd tell God who did it, so He'd know 'twa'n't mother
that wasted the nice butter. What do you think of that?”
“No use talkin', Hiram,” said the depot master, “that's the kind of boy
to have.”
“You bet you! Hello! here's the train. On time, for a wonder. See you
later, Sol. You take my advice, get married and have a boy of your own.
Nothin' like one for solid comfort.”
The train was coming and they went out to meet it. The only passenger
to alight was Mr. Barzilla Wingate, whose arrival had been foretold
by Bailey Stitt the previous evening. Barzilla was part owner of a
good-sized summer hotel at Wellmouth Neck. He and the depot master were
old friends.
After the train had gone Wingate and Captain Sol entered the station
together. The Captain had insisted that his friend come home with him to
breakfast, instead of going to the hotel. After some persuasion Barzilla
agreed. So they sat down to await Issy's arrival. The depot master could
not leave the station until the “assistant” arrived.
“Well, Barzilla,” asked Captain Sol, “what's the newest craze over to
the hotel?”
“The newest,” said Wingate, with a grin, “is automobiles.”
“Automobiles? Why, I thought 'twas baseball.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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