jealously devoted subordinate.

Franklin was over forty; his mother was still alive. She stood in the
forefront of all women for him, just as Captain Anthony stood in the
forefront of all men. We may suppose that these groups were not very
large. He had gone to sea at a very early age. The feeling which caused
these two people to partly eclipse the rest of mankind were of course not
similar; though in time he had acquired the conviction that he was
"taking care" of them both. The "old lady" of course had to be looked
after as long as she lived. In regard to Captain Anthony, he used to say
that: why should he leave him? It wasn't likely that he would come
across a better sailor or a better man or a more comfortable ship. As to
trying to better himself in the way of promotion, commands were not the
sort of thing one picked up in the streets, and when it came to that,
Captain Anthony was as likely to give him a lift on occasion as anyone in
the world.

From Mr. Powell's description Franklin was a short, thick black-haired
man, bald on the top. His head sunk between the shoulders, his staring
prominent eyes and a florid colour, gave him a rather apoplectic
appearance. In repose, his congested face had a humorously melancholy
expression.

The ship-keeper having given him up all the keys and having been chased
forward with the admonition to mind his own business and not to chatter
about what did not concern him, Mr. Franklin went under the poop. He
opened one door after another; and, in the saloon, in the captain's state-
room and everywhere, he stared anxiously as if expecting to see on the
bulkheads, on the deck, in the air, something unusual--sign, mark,
emanation, shadow--he hardly knew what--some subtle change wrought by the
passage of a girl. But there was nothing. He entered the unoccupied
stern cabin and spent some time there unscrewing the two stern ports. In
the absence of all material evidences his uneasiness was passing away.
With a last glance round he came out and found himself in the presence of
his captain advancing from the other end of the saloon.

Franklin, at once, looked for the girl. She wasn't to be seen. The
captain came up quickly. 'Oh! you are here, Mr. Franklin.' And the mate
said, 'I was giving a little air to the place, sir.' Then the captain,
his hat pulled down over his eyes, laid his stick on the table and asked
in his kind way: 'How did you find your mother, Franklin?'--