"But she's a bouncer," remarked the skipper. "What do you make her?"
"O--L," spelled Otie--"O--L--Olenia. Must be a local pilot aboard.
None of them New York spiffer captains could find Saturday Cove through
the feather-tide that's outside just now."
"Well, whether they can or whether they can't isn't of any interest to
me," stated the skipper, with fine indifference. "I'd hate to be in
a tight place and have to depend on one of them gilded dudes! I smell
supper. Come on!"
He was a little uncertain as to what demeanor he ought to assume
below, but he clumped down the companion-way with considerable show of
confidence, and Otie followed.
The captain cast a sharp glance at his daughter. He had been afraid that
he would find her crying, and he did not know how to handle such cases
with any certainty.
But she had dried her eyes and she gave him no very amiable
look--rather, she hinted defiance. He felt more at ease. In his opinion,
any person who had spirit enough left for fight was in a mood to keep on
enjoying life.
"Perhaps I went a mite too far, Polly," he admitted. He was mild, but
he preserved a little touch of surliness in order that she might not
conclude that her victory was won. "But seeing that I brought you off to
sea to get you away from flirting--"
"Don't you dare to say that about me!" She beat her round little fist on
the table. "Don't you dare!"
"I don't mean that you ever done it! The dudes done it! I want to do
right by you, Polly. I've been to sea so long that I don't know much
about ways and manners, I reckon. I can't get a good line on things as
I ought to. I'm an old fool, I reckon." His voice trembled. "But it made
me mad to have you stram up there on deck and call me names before 'em."
She did not reply.
"I have always worked hard for you--sailing the seas and going without
things myself, so that you could have 'em--doing the best I could ever
after your poor mother passed on."
"I am grateful to you, father. But you don't understand a girl--oh, you
don't understand! But let's not talk about it any more--not now."
"I ain't saying to-night--I ain't making promises! But maybe--we'll
see how things shape up--maybe I'll send you back home. Maybe it 'll be
to-morrow. We'll see how the stage runs to the train, and so forth!"