Mrs. Shannon, in spite of the warm sunshine, sat inside, huddled over the stove. Her fingers were drawn out of shape with rheumatism. Her knees and her elbows were stiff. She sat with her back bent. Out of her shriveled, unlovely face her eyes gleamed balefully.
"Granny," asked Jeannette, rather doubtfully, "could _you_ teach me to sew?"
"I could, but I won't," snapped the old woman. "Let your father do it--your _his_ young one. If he'd make money like a man ought to, you could buy clothes ready-made. But he ain't no money-maker, and he never will be."
Jeanne backed hastily out of the shack. Even when Mrs. Shannon said pleasant things, which was not very often, she had a rasping, unpleasant voice. Clearly there was no hope in _that_ quarter.
Jeanne's father was out in the fishing boat with Barney; but Old Captain was mending a net near the door of his box-car. Perhaps _he_ could help her with this new and perplexing problem. She would ask.
So, with her family trailing behind, she paid a visit to the Captain.
"Captain," said she, "can you mend anything besides nets?"
"Men's pants," returned Old Captain, briefly.
"Could you _make_ anything? A shirt, you know, or--or an apron?"
"Well," replied the Captain, doubtfully, "I could sew up a seam, maybe, if somebody cut the darned thing--hum, ladies present--the _old_ thing out."
"Could you teach _me_ to sew a seam! You see, these children haven't a single clean thing to put on. If I could sew, I could make clothes for them, I believe, because I _think_ Daddy would buy me some cloth."
"Well now, Jeannie, if you could manage to get the needle threaded--that there's what gets me. Hold on--I got a _big_ one, somewhere's--now where did I put that needle!"
Old Captain rose ponderously to his feet, shuffled about inside his cabin and finally returned with a large spool of dingy thread, a mammoth thimble, and a huge darning needle. Also, he had found a piece of an old flour sack.
"Now, sit down aside me here and I'll show you. First you ties a knot--Oh, no! First you threads the needle like this--Well, by gum, went in, didn't she? An' _then_ you ties the knot--a good big 'un so she won't slip out. Then you lays the edges of the cloth together, like this, and you pokes the needle through--Here you, Sammy! You'll get your nose pricked!"