rom
that wharf in the little city for a good many years, they changed their
office to Boston. After that, their ships sailed from a wharf in Boston.
Once the brig _Industry_ had sailed for a far country. Little Jacob and
little Sol had gone on that voyage, and they always raced through their
breakfast so that they could get out on deck and see what there was to
see. Little Sol generally beat and went on deck first, but sometimes
little Jacob was first. The reason that little Sol generally beat was
that little Jacob had been brought up not to hurry through his meals,
but to wait for the older people; and he had to wait, anyway, because he
couldn't get the second part until his father and his mother, and any
company they had, had finished the first part. Then the first part was
carried out and the second part was brought in; and little Jacob had to
sit quietly in his chair with his hands folded in his lap until it came
in. But little Sol didn't bother much about those things.
One morning little Jacob and little Sol had raced through breakfast, as
they always did, and they had finished at exactly the same time, because
little Jacob hurried. Then they both tried to go on deck at the same
time. They managed to go up the cabin steps together, but they couldn't
get through the door together without squeezing very tightly. And, in
that squeezing, little Jacob caught his jacket on the lock of the door
so that the jacket tore. But little Jacob didn't know it, and he kept on
pushing, and at last he and little Sol went bouncing out and fell
sprawling on the deck.
Captain Solomon was sitting in the cabin, and he laughed to see them go
sprawling out, but he thought that he guessed the little boys had done
enough of that racing business. For somebody would have to mend little
Jacob's jacket and, besides, there was danger that little Jacob would
forget his manners, and that would never do. Little Jacob had beautiful
manners. So Captain Solomon made up his mind that Sol would have to
wait until little Jacob finished his breakfast, after that, and then
they should go up the cabin steps like little gentlemen and not push and
crowd and tear their jackets. And that would be a good thing for little
Sol, too, but he wouldn't like it at first. Captain Solomon didn't care
whether he liked it or not.
The little boys didn't know what Captain Solomon was thinking about, and
they laughed and picked themselves up and looked around. And they d
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