CAPTAIN SAM'L GOES HOME
As Mrs. Tobin walked with her husband from the shore the evening she took him off the "Eb and Flo," she maintained a rigid silence. The captain was well accustomed to this mood, and it always affected him more than the scolding. He knew then that his wife's anger was more than ordinary, and it was necessary for him to use all the diplomacy at his command.
"I've been thinkin', Martha, that you need a holiday," he at length ventured. "Ye haven't taken one fer a long time now. A trip to Fredericton would do ye a world of good. Yer nephew wrote fer ye to come an' see him."
Mrs. Tobin, however, was not inclined to discuss this subject, dear though it was to her heart. She had often planned such a trip, but she had something more serious to think about just now. She strode rapidly forward, causing the captain to puff at a great rate in his effort to keep up with her. He became annoyed.
"Say, Martha," he panted, "I'm not used to sich a gait as this, even if you are. Yer hittin' the ground so fast an' hard with them boots of yours that it's gittin' hot. I kin almost see the grass smokin'. Phew, I'm all in!" He slowed down, pulled out his handkerchief, and mopped his brow. "Go on, if ye want to. I'll be home after a while."
This appeal had some effect, for Mrs. Tobin stayed her steps a little.
"Thar, that's better, Martha," the captain encouraged.
"Ye kin slow up when ye want to. I wish to goodness ye'd slow up in other ways. Ye've been settin' me a lively pace ever since we was married, an' it's gittin' faster every year. Me heart can't stand much more, so if yer not keerful ye'll be lookin' around fer another husband before long. But I pity him, poor chap, an' if I only knew who he might be I'd give him a note of warnin' while I'm in the flesh."
It was quite evident that Mrs. Tobin was longing to express her feelings in no uncertain language, but as she had made up her mind to treat Samuel with silent contempt, it would not do to make any reply. She was greatly agitated, however, to find that this method was not so effective as in the past. Her husband was getting beyond her, and it worried her a great deal.
The captain was not slow to notice this, and it pleased him. He wondered why he had allowed her to ride rough-shod over him for so long. Perhaps a little more such treatment might break her spell.