I told him as much of the tale as was necessary , leaving him to think that my wife and I had found the dory and its small passenger during an ordinary walk along the shore . `` A green dory ! '' he exclaimed . `` Ben Forbes ' old green dory has been missing for a week , but it was so rotten and leaky he did n't bother looking for it . But this child , sir -- it beats me . What might he be like ? '' I described the child as closely as possible . `` That fits little Harry Martin to a hair , '' said old Abel , perplexedly , `` but , sir , it ca n't be . Or , if it is , there 's been foul work somewhere . James Martin 's wife died last winter , sir , and he died the next month . They left a baby and not much else . There were n't nobody to take the child but Jim 's half-sister , Maggie Fleming . She lived here at the Cove , and , I 'm sorry to say , sir , she had n't too good a name . She did n't want to be bothered with the baby , and folks say she neglected him scandalous . Well , last spring she begun talking of going away to the States . She said a friend of hers had got her a good place in Boston , and she was going to go and take little Harry . We supposed it was all right . Last Saturday she went , sir . She was going to walk to the station , and the last seen of her she was trudging along the road , carrying the baby . It has n't been thought of since .
But , sir , d'ye suppose she set that innocent child adrift in that old leaky XXXXX to send him to his death ?
Abel Boston Forbes Harry Jim Martin States dory left week