Captain June
By
Alice Hegan Rice
Author of "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch,"
"Lovey Mary," Etc.
With Pictures by C. D. Weldon
New York
The Century Co.
1907
Copyright 1906, 1907, by
The Century Co.
Published October, 1907
THE DE VINNE PRESS
TO THE LITTLE BOY I LOVE BEST
FRANCIS BARBOUR HEGAN
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
"All day long the boys played down by theriver" Frontispiece
The Tea-party on the Train 17
"'Do you want me to help you?'" 37
"'It's a Matsuri—a festival,' Seki explained" 49
"'Does it spell anything?' June asked" 75
"They peeped through the cracks, gravely discussingthe situation" 85
"It was the old sword-hilt that Monsieur had givenhim" 97
"Long after he was asleep she sat beside him" 107
"June waved good-by to the friends below" 117
CAPTAIN JUNE
CAPTAIN JUNE
Chapter I
June had never sat still so long during thewhole six years of his existence. His slenderbody usually so restless and noisy was motionless;his hands too fond of teasing andmischief lay limp in his lap, even his tonguewas still and that was the most wonderful ofall. The only part of him that stirred was asparkling pair of gray eyes that were lookingout upon the strangest world they had everseen.
The entire day had been one of enchantment,from the first waking hour when he discoveredthat the engines on the big steamer[pg 4]where he had lived for seventeen days hadstopped, and that the boat was actually lyingat anchor just off the coast of Japan. SekiSan, his Japanese nurse who had cared forhim ever since he was a baby, had been soeager to look out of the port-hole that shecould scarcely attend to her duties, and theconsequence was that he had to stand on thesofa and hook his mother's dress and help herwith the little pins at the back of the neckwhile Seki San finished the packi