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propose it. I never even suspicioned that he was hankerin’ to ship out, or that you’d let him go ’til you and James speaks to me ’bout it. And now you blames me for it.

—That’s so. Dick’s speaking the truth, Katey.

—You shouldn’t be taking it so hard, ’s far as I kin see. This vige’ll make a man of him. I’ll see to it he learns how to navigate, ’n’ study for a mate’s c’tificate right off—and it’ll give him a trade for the rest of his life, if he wants to travel.

—But I don’t want him to travel all his life. You’ve got to see he comes home when this trip is over. Then he’ll be all well, and he’ll want to—to marry—[ sits forward in his chair with an abrupt movement.]—and settle down right here.

—Well, in any case it won’t hurt him to learn things when he’s travellin’. And then he’ll get to see a lot of the world in the ports we put in at, ’n’ that’ll help him afterwards, no matter what he takes up.

—[Staring down at the knitting in her lap—as if she hadn’t heard him.] I never realized how hard it was going to be for me to have Robbie go—or I wouldn’t have considered it a minute. [On the verge of tears.] Oh, if only he wouldn’t go!

—It ain’t no good goin’ on that way, Kate, now it’s all settled.

—[Half-sobbing.] It’s all right for you to talk. You’ve never had any children of your