'A man bein' paid nine hundred a year,' I says, 'ought to dress decent, anyhow.' And that Phoebe Dawes speaks up, without bein' asked, and says for her part she'd ruther hear a broad man in a narrer coat than t'other way about.

'Twas a regular slap in the face for me, and Sarah Emma and I ain't got over it yet." Captain Cy heard the gossip concerning the new teacher and it rather pleased him.

She appeared to be independent, and he liked independence.
He met her once or twice on the street, but she merely bowed and passed on.

Once he tried to thank her again for her part in the cow episode, but she would not listen to him.
Bos'n was making good progress with her studies.

She was naturally a bright child--not the marvel the captain and the "Board of Strategy" considered her, but quick to learn.