A little thing might have sufficed to turn her feet either way -- back to reason and sanity , or into deeper darkness . It is my belief that the former has occurred , and that , if she is left in undisturbed possession of this child for a time , she will recover completely . '' I drove around the harbor that day with a lighter heart than I had hoped ever to possess again . When I reached Spruce Cove the first person I met was old Abel Blair . I asked him if any child were missing from the Cove or along shore . He looked at me in surprise , shook his head , and said he had not heard of any . 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 XXXXX the States .
along around as at from in of than that to