Captain Cy stood like a statue in the middle of the floor.

He squared his shoulders and jammed his clenched fists into his pockets.

Steps crunched the gravel of the walk.

There came a knock at the door of the dining room.
Walking steadily, but with a face set as the figurehead on one of his own ships, the captain went to answer the knock.

They heard the door open, and then a man's voice asked: "Is this Cap'n Whittaker ?" "Yes," was the short answer.
"Well, Cap, I guess you don't know me, though maybe you know some of my family.