Part 14 (2/2)

Malo” The farmer had a weatherly sea-eye ”I'm most outer 'baccy, too, Disko”

”Same here,” said Tom Platt ”Hi! Backez vouz--backez vouz! Standez awayez, you butt-ended mucho-bono! Where you from--St Malo, eh?”

Ah, ha! Mucho bono! Oui! oui! Clos Poulet--St Malo! St Pierre et Miquelon,” cried the other croaving woollen caps and laughing

Then all together, ”Bord! Bord!”

”Bring up the board, Danny Beats me how them Frenchmen fetch anywheres, exceptin' Ah fer theht, too”

Dan chalked the figures on the board, and they hung it in theto a chorus of hbourly to let 'e in his pockets

”Hev ye learned French then sence last trip'?” said Disko ”I don't want noo' your calm' Miquelon boats 'footy cochins,' same's you did off Le Have”

”Harmon Rush he said that was the way to rise 'eh ferfeller, don't you speak French?”

”Oh, yes,” said Harvey, valiantly; and he bawled: ”Hi! Say! Arretez vous! Attendez! Nous sommes venant pour tabac”

”Ah, tabac, tabac!” they cried, and laughed again

”That hit 'em Let's heave a dory over, anyway,” said Tom Platt ”I don't exactly hold no certificates on French, but I know another lingo that goes, I guess Come on, Harve, an' interpret”

The raffle and confusion when he and Harvey were hauled up the bark's black side was indescribable Her cabin was all stuck round with glaring coloured prints of the Virgin--the Virgin of Newfoundland, they called her Harvey found his French of no recognised Bank brand, and his conversation was liot along swiin, and the opera-co knives, greeted hian They had tobacco, plenty of it--American, that had never paid duty to France They wanted chocolate and crackers Harvey rowed back to arrange with the cook and Disko, ned the stores, and on his return the cocoa-tins and cracker-bags were counted out by the Frenchman's wheel It looked like a piratical division of loot; but Totail and stuffed with cakes of chewing and s off into the ay chorus:

”Par derriere chez nol y chante Et le jour et la nuit Que donneriez vous, belle, Qui I'amenerait ici? Je donnerai Quebec, Sorel et Saint Denis”

”Hoas it n-talk did?” Harvey de the ”We're Heres”

”Sign-talk!” Platt guffawed ”Well, yes, 'twas sign-talk, but a heap older'n your French, Harve Them French boats are chock-full o'

Freemasons, an' that's why”

”Are you a Freemason, then?”

”Looks that way, don't it?” said thehis pipe; and Harvey had another mystery of the deep sea to brood upon

CHAPTER VI

The thing that struck hily casual way in which so-boats, as Dan said, were naturally dependent on the courtesy and wisdos of stea interviehen they had been chased for threeold cattle-boat, all boarded over on the upper deck, that smelt like a thousand cattle-pens A very excited officer yelled at the-trumpet, and she lay and lollopped helplessly on the water while Disko ran the ”We're Here” under her lee and gave the skipper a piece of his ht ye be--eh? Ye don't deserve to be anywheres You barn-yard trah seas with no blahbours, an'

your eyes in your coffee-cups instid o' in your silly heads”

At this the skipper danced on the bridge and said so about Disko's own eyes ”We haven't had an observation for three days D'you suppose we can run her blind?” he shouted

”Wa-al, I can,” Disko retorted ”What's come to your lead'? Et it'?

Can't ye smell bottom, or are them cattle too rank?”