As he grew older, it represented to him the fame for which he had longed when young.

When the war broke out and he became one of the bravest defenders of the Union, he was everywhere known as "Cap'n Cod." After the war, in which he managed to lose a leg, he went to Iowa to live with his only relative, a widowed niece, who had but one child, a little girl.
Between this child, Sabella, and the white-haired veteran, who could tell more tales than a fairy-book, and construct more toys than Santa Claus ever dreamed of, there sprang up an affection that could not have been stronger had they been father and daughter.

On one side it was based upon boundless love and admiration, and on the other upon admiration and boundless love.

When Sabella went to school, the Captain's business kept him within sight of the school-house; and when school was out, the little girl was nowhere happier than in his company.

For her sake he was the friend of her friends, and among the children of Dubuque no one was so popular as Cap'n Cod.