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always well-intentioned. The little man was doing nothing more than conveying Gladys Ann's pre-storm paranoia. It went with the territory. "Look, Moxie, you go back to the Gull House and tell G.A. that I'll be there by noon. If the weather reports aren't any different by then, we'll discuss what we should do. Okay?" Bartholomew always called Gladys Ann "G.A." when he was trying to avoid lengthy conversations. |
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Moxie Avilla, among his other habits, had a tendency to nod his head like a chicken when Bartholomew was giving him instructions. He was doing it now. |
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To Moxie's way of thinking, Boss Bart, who owned the Gull House and frequently assisted Sheriff Gleason by serving as a deputy during the off-season, ought to be the one who was most concerned about the impending storm. The Gull House sat out on the point, one of the island's few high places, and if a storm did hit, the Gull House was bound to get a healthy dose of foul weather. Instead, there he was, this tall, open-faced man, the only son of his old friend Lucius, giving him a list of chores that were nothing more than a thinly veiled plot to get rid of him. |
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Moxie nodded and, because he was dutiful and Bart was boss, set about the task of getting his chores accomplished. |
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After sending his shadow packing, Bart |
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