ved this portion of his
figure-head, while his side whiskers and mustache were very long. He was
dressed in a complete suit of gray, and wore a coarse braided straw hat.

Captain Shivernock, as I have more than once hinted, was an eccentric
man. He had been a shipmaster in the earlier years of his life, and had
made a fortune by some lucky speculations during the War of the
Rebellion, in which he took counsel of his interest rather than his
patriotism. He had a strong will, a violent temper, and an implacable
hatred to any man who had done him an injury, either actually or
constructively. It was said that he was as faithful and devoted in his
friendships as he was bitter and relentless in his hatreds; but no one
in the city, where he was a very unpopular man, had any particular
experience of the soft side of his character. He was a native of
Lincolnville, near Belfast, though he had left his home in his youth. He
had a fine house in the city, and lived in good style. He was said to be
a widower, and had no children. The husband of his housekeeper was the
man of all work about his place, and both of them had come with their
employer from New York.

He seldom did anything like other people. He never went to church, would
never put his name upon a subscription paper, however worthy the object,
though he had been known to give a poor man an extravagant reward for a
slight service. He would not pay his taxes till the fangs of the law
worried the money out of him, but would give fifty dollars for the first
salmon or the first dish of peaches of the season for his table. He was
as full of contradictions as he was of oddities, and no one knew how to
take him. One moment he seemed to be hoarding his money like a miser,
and the next scattering it with insane prodigality.

"I'm tired out, Don John," added Captain Shivernock, as he seated
himself, fanning his red face with his hat.

"Have you walked far, sir?" asked Donald, who was well acquainted with
the captain; for his father had worked on his boat, and he was often in
the shop.

"I believe I have hoofed it about ten miles this morning," replied
Captain Shivernock with an oath; and he had a wicked habit of
ornamenting every sentence he used with a profane expletive, which I
shall invariably omit.

"Then you have walked nearly the whole length of the island."

"Do you mean to tell me I lie?" demanded the captain.

"Certainly not, sir," protested Donald.

"My boat got