“Captain Tarwell isn’t one to talk about his personal affairs. He’s never been quite as cheerful since his son was lost at sea.”
The fisherman then went on to explain that since the cottage had been built no one ever had lived there. Captain Tarwell had constructed it with his own hands, intending it as a home for himself and his only son, Jerry. After the boy’s drowning, he had locked the doors, refusing even to rent the place.
“Maybe Jerry isn’t really dead,” said Vevi. “Perhaps someday he’ll come back.”
The fisherman shook his head as he gathered up his fishing equipment.
“Jerry never will return,” he said. “His drowning was well established. Captain Tarwell ought to try to forget the past.”
Now Vevi and Sunny felt very sorry for the kindly old sea captain. Nevertheless, they considered it a shame that he would not allow anyone to live in the little cottage.
“Captain Tarwell must have put up the padlock after Connie and I told him about the door being unlocked,” Vevi said thoughtfully. “I suppose he doesn’t want us going there any more.”
Very shortly after the fisherman had left the pond, Mrs. Williams and Miss Gordon announced that it was time for the Brownies to leave also.
Vevi was ready to go, because she was having trouble with the turtle. Whenever she would put him down, even for a minute, off he would start for the water.
Lightning would be plenty of work, Vevi realized. Not only would she have to make him a pen, but she would need to feed him each day.