As he grew older, it represented to him the fame for which he
had longed when young. When the war broke out and he became one of the
bravest defenders of the Union, he was everywhere known as "Cap'n Cod."
After the war, in which he managed to lose a leg, he went to Iowa to
live with his only relative, a widowed niece, who had but one child, a
little girl.
Between this child, Sabella, and the white-haired veteran, who could
tell more tales than a fairy-book, and construct more toys than Santa
Claus ever dreamed of, there sprang up an affection that could not have
been stronger had they been father and daughter. On one side it was
based upon boundless love and admiration, and on the other upon
admiration and boundless love. When Sabella went to school, the
Captain's business kept him within sight of the school-house; and when
school was out, the little girl was nowhere happier than in his
company. For her sake he was the friend of her friends, and among the
children of Dubuque no one was so popular as Cap'n Cod. They did not
live in the city, but on a small farm a few miles from it, and this
Cap'n Cod was supposed to manage. Farming was, however, the one
occupation for which he had no taste, and but for his capable niece the
annual crops would not have paid the expense of raising them.
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