"Are you not afraid of spoiling your husband, then, Mrs. Peterson?"
Betty replied. "You treat him just like a child."
"Oh, but he is an invalid, and can't help himself. That is the reason why I have to wait upon him."
"But Mr. David is a wonder," Betty insisted, "and he must not be neglected."
There was such an expression of admiration in the girl's eyes that Mrs.
Peterson had not the heart to smile at her enthusiasm.
"In what way is he a wonder?" was all she asked, as she went on with her work.
"Oh, he has a great thing in his head, which he is thinking about all the time. It has to do with the falls, and he has told me a whole lot about it. He will be very rich some day, and we are going to have such a nice house of our own. You see, I am to be his housekeeper, and nurse him when he is sick."
It was a great pleasure for Captain Peterson to have David and Betty at the house. No longer did he have to sit alone for hours upon the verandah as he had an audience now to listen to his tales of the sea and the places he had visited. David was a good listener and enjoyed hearing the yarns, although he kept one ear open for the sound of the falls. Nothing must interfere with his interest up there.
One afternoon the captain was speaking about England, and mentioned Liverpool. David became unusually interested, and even let his pipe go out as he sat with his eyes fixed intently upon the captain's face.
"You seem to know Liverpool pretty well," he at length remarked, as the captain paused to re-light his pipe.
"Should say so," was the reply. "Guess I know about everything there worth knowing, especially along shipping lines."