Page:Cornelia Meigs--The island of Appledore.djvu/188

168 “Well,” he said, “you’ve come back, have you? I thought you would.”

His smile of welcome was a warm and friendly one, but it disappeared almost instantly. Plainly something was weighing very heavily on Captain Saulsby’s mind.

“Did you bring an evening paper?” he demanded almost at once, and took eagerly the one that Billy drew from his pocket. The announcement that war had been declared blazed in huge headlines across the first page.

“It’s no surprise,” commented the old man as he sat down on the bench to read. He growled with impatience because he tried to  make out the smaller print without his spectacles, could not manage it, but had to take  time to search through his pockets, find them  and set them laboriously on his nose. He read greedily for some minutes, then put the  paper down and sat on gazing moodily out to  sea.

“They are recruiting for the Navy over at Piscataqua,” Billy remarked at last, merely  for the sake of saying something.

“Yes,” answered the Captain; “I was over there myself two days ago.”

“Why, what for?” the boy asked in surprise.