some about layin', but I tell
him he can't expect rain an' fog not to bring rheumatism."

"That's so," agreed Celestina. "What a spell of weather we've had! I
guess it's about over now, though. I'm sorry Benjamin's shoulders
should hector him so. We're gettin' old, Zenas Henry, that's the plain
truth of it, an' must cheerfully take our share of aches an' pains, I
s'pose. Are Captain Phineas an' Captain Jonas well?"

"Oh, they're nimble as crabs."

"An' Abbie?"

"Fine as a clipper in a breeze!" responded the man with enthusiasm.
"Best wife that ever was! The sun rises an' sets in that woman,
Celestina. What she can't do ain't worth doin'! Turns off work like
as if it was of no account an' grows better lookin' every day a-doin'
it."

Celestina laughed.

"I reckon you didn't make no mistake gettin' married, Zenas Henry,"
mused she.

"Mistake!" repeated Zenas Henry.

"An' no mistake takin' in the child, either," went on Celestina,
unheeding the interruption.

She saw his face soften and a glow of tenderness overspread it.

"Delight was sent us out of heaven," he declared with solemnity.
"'Twas as much intended that ship should come ashore here an' the three
captains an' myself bring that little girl to land as that the sun
should rise in the mornin'. The child was meant fur us--fur us an' fur
nobody else on earth. Was she our own daughter we couldn't be fonder
of her than we are. It's ten years now since the wreck of the
_Michleen_. Think of it! How time flies! Ten years--an' the girl's
most twenty. I can't realize it. Why, it seems only yesterday she was
clingin' to my neck an' I was bringin' her home."

"She's grown to be a regular beauty," Celestina observed.

"I s'pose she has; folks seem to think so," replied Zenas Henry. "But
it wouldn't make an ounce of difference to me how she looked; I'd love
her just the same. I reckon she'll never seem to me anyhow like she
does to other people. Still I ain't so blind that I don't know she's
pretty. Her hair is wonderful, an' she's got them big brown eyes an'
pink cheeks. I'm proud as Tophet of her. If it warn't fur Abbie I
figger the three captains an' I would have the child clean spoilt. But
Abbie's always kept a firm hand on us an' prevented us from puttin'
nonsensical notions into Delight's head. Much of the way she's turned
out is due to Abbie's common sense. Well, the girl's a mighty nice
one," concluded Zenas Henry. "There's none t