During
the cheerful and plentiful meal the young captain of the _Seamew_
related certain matters he thought would interest the woman
regarding his purchase of the schooner and the voyage down to the
Cape. He told her he was sure the _Seamew_ was fast enough for a
Boston market boat.
"Speed is what is wanted now to compete with the Old Colony," Tunis
declared. "We've got fish and clams and cranberries in season, and
some vegetables, that have to be shaken up and jounced together and
squashed on those jolting steam trains. I'll lay down a crate of
lobsters at the T-wharf without a hair being ruffled. I know how to
stow a cargo."
She nodded both her understanding and her belief that Tunis was
right. The legacy he had received from the estate of Peleg Latham,
Medford Latham's brother, had enabled Tunis to buy this beautiful
schooner. Undoubtedly an eye for the beauty of the craft had more
than a little drawn the young man into her purchase. Yet there was a
foundation of solid sense under his streak of romance.
In this day a man must serve a long apprenticeship before he gets a
command unless he owns the craft on which he is skipper. To own a
schooner of the size of the _Seamew_ is not enough.
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