{"product_id":"2940013654396","title":"The Red Eric","description":"CHAPTER ONE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE TALE BEGINS WITH THE ENGAGING OF A \"TAIL\"--AND THE CAPTAIN DELIVERS\u003cbr\u003eHIS OPINIONS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCaptain Dunning stood with his back to the fireplace in the back-parlour\u003cbr\u003eof a temperance coffee-house in a certain town on the eastern seaboard\u003cbr\u003eof America.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe name of that town is unimportant, and, for reasons with which the\u003cbr\u003ereader has nothing to do, we do not mean to disclose it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCaptain Dunning, besides being the owner and commander of a South Sea\u003cbr\u003ewhale-ship, was the owner of a large burly body, a pair of broad\u003cbr\u003eshoulders, a pair of immense red whiskers that met under his chin, a\u003cbr\u003eshort, red little nose, a large firm mouth, and a pair of light-blue\u003cbr\u003eeyes, which, according to their owner's mood, could flash like those of\u003cbr\u003ea tiger or twinkle sweetly like the eyes of a laughing child.  But his\u003cbr\u003eeyes seldom flashed; they more frequently twinkled, for the captain was\u003cbr\u003ethe very soul of kindliness and good-humour.  Yet he was abrupt and\u003cbr\u003esharp in his manner, so that superficial observers sometimes said he was\u003cbr\u003ehasty.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCaptain Dunning was, so to speak, a sample of three primary colours--\u003cbr\u003ered, blue, and yellow--a walking fragment, as it were, of the rainbow.\u003cbr\u003eHis hair and face, especially the nose, were red; his eyes, coat, and\u003cbr\u003epantaloons were blue, and his waistcoat was yellow.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the time we introduce him to the reader he was standing, as we have\u003cbr\u003esaid, with his back to the fireplace, although there was no fire, the\u003cbr\u003eweather being mild, and with his hands in his breeches pockets.  Having\u003cbr\u003eworked with the said hands for many long years before the mast, until he\u003cbr\u003ehad at last worked himself _behind_ the mast, in other words, on to the\u003cbr\u003equarterdeck and into possession of his own ship, the worthy captain\u003cbr\u003econceived that he had earned the right to give his hands a long rest;\u003cbr\u003eaccordingly he stowed them away in his pockets and kept them there at\u003cbr\u003eall times, save when necessity compelled him to draw them forth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Very odd,\" remarked Captain Dunning, looking at his black straw hat\u003cbr\u003ewhich lay on the table before him, as if the remark were addressed to\u003cbr\u003eit--\"very odd if, having swallowed the cow, I should now be compelled to\u003cbr\u003eworry at the tail.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the black straw hat made no reply, the captain looked up at the\u003cbr\u003eceiling, but not meeting with any response from that quarter, he looked\u003cbr\u003eout at the window and encountered the gaze of a seaman flattening his\u003cbr\u003enose on a pane of glass, and looking in.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe captain smiled.  \"Ah! here's a tail at last,\" he said, as the seaman\u003cbr\u003edisappeared, and in another moment reappeared at the door with his hat\u003cbr\u003ein his hand.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47121214931184,"sku":"2940013654396","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013654396_p0.jpg?v=1763583908","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013654396","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}