"And so," said Captain Whidden, when we had explained our errand, "I am to
have this young man aboard my ship."
"If you will, sir," I cried eagerly, yet anxiously, too, for he did not
seem nearly so well pleased as I had expected.
"Yes, Ben, you may come with us to Canton; but as your father says, you
must fill your own boots and stand on your own two feet. And will you,
friend Lathrop,"--he turned to my father,--"hazard a venture on the
voyage?"
My father smiled. "I think, Joe," he said, "that I've placed a considerable
venture in your hands already."
Captain Whidden nodded. "So you have, so you have. I'll watch it as best I
can, too, though of course I'll see little of the boy. Let him go now. I'll
talk with you a while if I may."
My father glanced at me, and I got up.
Captain Whidden rose, too. "Come down in the morning," he said. "You can
sign with us at the Websters' counting-house.--And good-bye, Ben," he
added, extending his hand.
"Good-bye? You don't mean--that I'm not to go with you?"
He smiled. "It'll be a long time, Ben, before you and I meet again on quite
such terms as these."
Then I saw what he meant, and shook his hand and walked away without
looking back.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25