Captain Hiram was an ex-fishing skipper, fifty-five years of age, who, with his wife, Sophronia, and their infant son, Hiram Joash Baker, lived in a small, old-fashioned house at the other end of the village, near the shore.

Captain Hiram, having retired from the sea, got his living, such as it was, from his string of fish traps, or "weirs." The depot master hailed the new arrival heartily.
"Hello, there, Hiram!" he cried, rising from his chair.

"Glad to see you once in a while.

Ain't goin' to leave us, are you?
Not goin' abroad for your health, or anything of that kind, hey ?" Captain Baker laughed.
"No," he answered.

"No further abroad than Hyannis.