“`Icouldn’tclearout，“Jimbegan。`Theskipperdid——that’sallverywellforhim。Icouldn’t，andIwouldn’t。Theyallgotoutofitinonewayoranother，butitwouldn’tdoforme。“
`Ilistenedwithconcentratedattention，notdaringtostirinmychair；
Iwantedtoknow——andtothisdayIdon’tknow，Icanonlyguess。Hewouldbeconfidentanddepressedallinthesamebreath，asifsomeconvictionofinnateblamelessnesshadcheckedthetruthwrithingwithinhimateveryturn。Hebeganbysaying，inthetoneinwhichamanwouldadmithisinabilitytojumpatwenty-footwall，thathecouldnevergohomenow；andthisdeclarationrecalledtomymindwhatBrierlyhadsaid，that“theoldparsoninEssexseemedtofancyhissailorsonnotalittle。“
`Ican’ttellyouwhetherJimknewhewasespecially“fancied，“butthetoneofhisreferencesto“mydad“wascalculatedtogivemeanotionthatthegoodoldruraldeanwasaboutthefinestmanthateverhadbeenworriedbythecaresofalargefamilysincethebeginningoftheworld。
This，thoughneverstated，wasimpliedwithananxietythatthereshouldbenomistakeaboutit，whichwasreallyverytrueandcharming，butaddedapoignantsenseoflivesfarofftotheotherelementsofthestory。“Hehasseenitallinthehomepapersbythistime，“saidJim。“Itcanneverfacethepooroldchap。“IdidnotdaretoliftmyeyesatthistillI