The latter entered an appeal which would delay matters for a time, two or three months perhaps; meanwhile Captain Cy was to retain custody of Bos'n.
But the court's action, expected though it was, made the captain very blue and downcast.

He could see no hope.

He felt certain that he should lose the little girl in the end, in spite of the long succession of appeals which his lawyer contemplated.

And what would become of her then?
What sort of training would she be likely to have?
Who would her associates be, under the authority of a father such as hers?
And what would he do, alone in the old house, when she had gone for good?
He could not bear to think of it, and yet he thought of little else.
The evenings, after Bos'n had gone to bed, were the worst.

During the day he tried his best to be busy at something or other.