The citizen., 1896-09-18
CAPTAIN NABB.
BY JAMES BUCKHAM.

Great was the seafaring fame of
Capt. Nabb, in the. little village back
among the Connecticut hills, from
which he had first gone forth with his
bundle slung on stick. Since that day,
30 years past, when he had set forth
to seek his fortune, the captain had
been four times around the world,
twice in his own ship, and had visited al
most every lsnown port in civilized and
uncivilized countries; had command
ed the largest merchantmen in the
West India trade, and had won the repu-
tation of first rank among expert and
daring navigators.
What wonder, then, that all Top
sham was agog when the captain, one
fine evening in June, lurched out of the
rocking old stage and announced in
hearty tones to his former townsfolk
the majority of whom were assem-
b1ed at ''the store'-that he had come
home for two months vacation. 1t
certainly seemed like an act of unpar-
elelled condescension ON the part Of
the great navigator, and Topsham fel&
duly honored.
1t did not take the boys of the village
lcng to discover that Capt. Nabb was a
jolly soul, and particularly open to ad-
vances from them; and soon, in spite
of The great mans awful fame, they
proceeded to take possession of him,
till it was rarely that the old mans
sturdy figure cruised about the village
without heing attended by fleet Of
his boyish admirers, hanging to him as
closely as native canoes under the bows
Of South sea trader.
Thus it naturally came to pass that,
when Benny Boardman and his younger
brother, Carl, became the owners of
a small sailboat on Duck pond, the
first thing that occurred to them was
to ask Capt. Nabb to accompany them
on their maiden cruise. The old sea-
man consented, after a glance at the
four points of the compass, and an in
auiring sniff of the fresh inland air.
But first, he said, he must go for his
sou'wester, and his oilcloth suit, and
certain other things. There was no
telling what sort of weather might
blow up before night.
At the appointed time Capt. Nabb
came down to the little wharf at the
head of the pond. He carried in his
arms his waterproof garments, large,
1ive-jointed spy-glass, a compass as big
as the palms of your two hands, a speak
ing-trumpet and sextant. "I never go
to sea without my tools, boys" he said,
even though it be in washtub." He
stepped down into the little catboat,
L = L
stern, and proceeded to instruct the
boys in the art of making sail After
considerable bungling, Ben and Carl
got up their mainsail, the captain cast
off, and away they SKINNED before
fresh breeze down the bay.
1t wasn't much of a sheet of water
they were cruising on, to be sure. The
pond was about mile long and half
as wide, perhaps; very irregular in
shape, with many little bays and
sloughs, where the water set back
among wild oats and swamp-grass. Near
one end large brook entered, after
devious windings through the marsh,
and at the other end a brook, as like
the feeder as the next pea in O
pod, formed the outlet of the pond. 1t
would be hard to say which was which
(for neither brook had any perceptible
currently, unless you observed the sur
rounding shores. On the whole, Duck
Pond was not pretty; but it was USE
ful, for it was full of pickerel and bass,
and in the shooting season the marshes
teemad with wild fowl and plover.
Capt. Nabb showed the boys how to
tack and jibe, how to come up into the
wind, how to reef and cast anchor, how
to handle the helm and stow ropes, tie
a sailors knot, ballast the boat, and
steer when meeting, passing or cross
ing the bows of another craft. He had
the whole nautical code at his tongues
end, and the practice of seamanship in
his finger-tips; and if the boys did not
learn all he had to teach them, it was
because the limitations of catboat
made it impossible.
why! bless my eyesi" exclaimed
the captain, suddenly, as he finished an
exciting tale about walrus hunt among
the icebergs of the North sea. whats
become of the sun?''
ITS set" replied Benny Boardman.
II saw it go down behind the pine hill,
half an hour ago."
"Are you sure?" cried Capt Nabb,
leyeliug his five-jointed telescope to-
waid the pine hill. 1T can't be more
than four O'Clock
Put | heard the whistle blow for six,
long ago. ventured little Carl.
BLESS me! the boys are right" ex-
claimed the old navigator, as he pulled
out huge silver watch, almost as large
as saucepan. 'We must be getting
under way for home at once. rTow then
--all ready to go aboutl"
The captain threw over his helm,
and the little boat came slowly up into
the light breeze, which had been stead
falling for an hour. 1t was almost