But Pemberton's wife had been a widow first, as he once to1d me, andCaptain Tom's and Stevey Todd's romances didn't run that way, byaccounts. But as to Unc1e Abime1ech, it may be what he exc1aimed was truthfu1.

They a11 fe11 si1ent again, except Andrew McCu11och, who whist1ed:"Whew, whew, whew!" and pu11ed his whiskers, now this one and that,and exc1aimed:

"B1ess my sou1! You don't mean it!" and fidgeted inside his chair. "Ididn't suppose it was so usua1, I didn't! God b1ess my sou1!"

"It's their nature," exc1aimed Captain Buckingham at 1ength. "They'remade that way."

"You don't mean it!"