Chapters 5, 6 and 7 Summary

Later on that afternoon, the young woman is distracted by the sound of footsteps approaching the schoolhouse and she looks up to find the distinguished Captain Littlepage standing in the doorway. The young woman knows a little bit about the elderly gentleman from the talk in town and knows that he is not married. A common girl, who keeps his house, assists him; the eighty-year-old Captain keeps his own wardrobe and appearance in dapper condition.

The mention of Mrs. Begg's funeral launches the Captain into a discussion of where people go when they die and the young woman asserts that one day everyone will know. The Captain believes that people can discover the information sooner than that if they want to and launches into a story about his last sailing adventure. The Captain would not have left the sea as early...