"
"I do love to see a man belay his jaw!" said Captain January,
unconsciously quoting the words of another and a more famous captain,
the beloved David Dodd. So Bob was free to come and go as he liked,
and to smoke his pipe in sociable silence for hours at a time, within
the walls of Storm Castle.
"Stop here, Bob!" said Star, with an imperious motion of her hand.
"I don't want to go any nearer." The obedient Bob lay on his oars,
and both looked up at the great boat, now only a few yards away. The
decks were crowded with passengers, who leaned over the railings,
idly chatting, or watching the water to see if the tide had turned.
"Sight o' folks," said Bob Peet, nodding towards the after-deck, which
seemed a solid mass of human beings.
"Yes," said the child, speaking half to herself, in a low tone. "It's
just like the Tower of Babel, isn't it? I should think they would
be afraid. 'And the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the
face of all the earth.' And it's so _stupid_!" she added, after a
moment's pause. "Why don't they stay at home? Haven't they any homes
to stay at? Who takes care of their homes while they go sailing about
like loons?"
"Folks likes to v'yage," said Bob Peet, with mild toleration.
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