There, ma'am," and he nodded to Lucy and handed her the letters, "that's 'bout all the mail that come this mornin'.

There warn't nothin' else much in the bag.

Susan Tucher asked me to bring 'em up to you count of the weather and 'count o' your being in such an all-fired hurry to read 'em." Little Ellen was in his arms before this speech was finished and everybody else on their feet shaking hands with the old salt, except poor, deaf old Martha, who called out, "Good-mornin', Captain Holt," in a strong, clear voice, and in rather a positive way, but who kept her seat by the fire and continued her knitting; and complacent Mrs.
Dellenbaugh, the pastor's wife, who, by reason of her position, never got up for anybody.
The captain advanced to the fire, Ellen still in his arms, shook hands with Mrs.Dellenbaugh and extended three fingers, rough as lobster's claws and as red, to the old nurse.

Of late years he never met Martha without feeling that he owed her an apology for the way he had treated her the day she begged him to send Bart away.

So he always tried to make it up to her, although he had never told her why.
"Hope you're better, Martha?
Heard ye was under the weather; was that so?
Ye look spry 'nough now," he shouted in his best quarter-deck voice.
"Yes, but it warn't much.