Captain Eli did not exactly agree with her, but he was in
very good humor, and she was in good humor, and the matter was
soon settled, and Mrs. Trimmer promised to come to the captain's
house in the morning and help about the Christmas tree, and in
the afternoon to go to get the little girl from Mrs. Crumley's
and bring her to the house.

Captain Eli was delighted with the arrangements. "Things now
seem to be goin' along before a spankin' breeze,"said he. "But I
don't know about the dinner. I guess you will have to leave that
to me. I don't believe Captain Cephas could eat a woman-
cooked dinner. He's accustomed to livin sailor fashion, you
know, and he has declared over and over again to me that woman-
cookin' doesn't agree with him."

"But I can cook sailor fashion," said Mrs. Trimmer,--"just as
much sailor fashion as you or Captain Cephas, and if he don't
believe it, I'll prove it to him; so you needn't worry about
that."

When the captain had gone, Mrs. Trimmer gayly put away the
sail. There was no need to finish it in a hurry, and no knowing
when she would get her money for it when it was done. No one had
asked her to a Christmas dinner that year, and she had expected
to have a lonely time of it. But it would be very pleasant to
spend Christmas with the little girl and the two good captains.
Instead of sewing any more on the sail, she got out some of her
own clothes to see if they needed anything done to them.

The next morning Mrs. Trimmer went to Captain Eli's house,