really a little bit too much. Captain
Anthony ought to have known better.

Franklin (the chief mate's name was Franklin) felt disappointed; almost
disillusioned. Silly thing to do! Here was a confounded old
ship-keeper set talking. He snubbed the ship-keeper, and tried to think
of that insignificant bit of foolishness no more; for it diminished
Captain Anthony in his eyes of a jealously devoted subordinate.

Franklin was over forty; his mother was still alive. She stood in the
forefront of all women for him, just as Captain Anthony stood in the
forefront of all men. We may suppose that these groups were not very
large. He had gone to sea at a very early age. The feeling which
caused these two people to partly eclipse the rest of mankind were of
course not similar; though in time he had acquired the conviction that
he was "taking care" of them both. The "old lady" of course had to be
looked after as long as she lived. In regard to Captain Anthony, he
used to say that: why should he leave him? It wasn't likely that he
would come across a better sailor or a better man or a more comfortable
ship. As to trying to better himself in the way of promotion, commands
were not the sort of thing one picked up in the streets, and when it
came to that, Captain Anthony was as likely to give him a lift on
occasion as anyone in the world.

From Mr Powell's description Franklin was a short, thick black-haired
man, bald on the top. His head sunk between the shoulders, his staring
prominent eyes and a florid colour, gave him a rather apoplectic
appearance. In repose, his congested face had a humorously melancholy
expression.

The ship-keeper having given him up all the keys and having been chased
forward with the admonition to mind his own business and not to chatter
about what did not concern him, Mr Franklin went under the poop. He
opened one door after another; and, in the saloon, in the captain's
state-room and everywhere, he stared anxiously as if expecting to see on
the bulkheads, on the deck, in the air, something unusual--sign, mark,
emanation, shadow--he hardly knew what--some subtle change wrought by
the passage of a girl. But there was nothing. He entered the
unoccupied stern-cabin and spent some time there unscrewing the two
stern ports. In the absence of all material evidences his uneasiness
was passing away. With a last glance round he came out and found
himself in the presence of his captain advancing