United States or Croatia ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
"How you vass, Cabtin Burke?" said Schenke, an enormous fair-headed Teuton, powerful-looking, but run sadly to fat in his elder years. "You t'ink you get a chanst now, hein? . . . Now de Yankee is goin' avay!" He pointed over to the Presidio, where the Flint lay at anchor. We followed the line of his fat forefinger. At anchor, yes, but the anchor nearly a-weigh.
You know you haf bedder look von de vind as Ah got. Ah sail mein sheep! Ah dond't vait for de fair winds nor not'ings!" "No," said Burke, "but ye get 'em, all the same. Everybody knows ye've th' divil's own luck, Schenke!" "Und so you vas! Look now, Cabtin Burke. You t'nk you got so fast a sheep as mein, eh? Veil! Ah gif you a chanst to make money.
"Vat 'bout dot bett you make mit me, Cabtin?" said Schenke. "Dot is all recht, no?" "Oh, yess," answered the old man, but without enthusiasm. "That stands." "Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Tventig dollars to feefty dot you goes home quicker as me, no?" Schencke turned to the other men. "Vat you tinks, yenthelmen? Ah tinks Ah sbend der tventig dollars now so sure Ah vass." The others laughed.
"Dey dond't like de hard vork, Cabtin. . . . Dey dond't like it but ve takes der Coop, all de same! Dey pulls goot und strong, oder" he rasped a short sentence in rapid Low German "Shermans dond't be beat by no durn lime-juicer, nein!" Old Burke grinned. "Cocky as ever, Captain Schenke! Bedad now, since ye had the luck of ye're last passage there's no limit to ye!" "Luck! Luck!
"Ah dond't care about de bett," continued the big German. "De bett is noting, but, look here, Cabtin Ah tell you Ah look to vin dot Merchants' Cup. Gott! Ah vass verrickt ven your boys come in first. Ach so! Und now de Cup iss at de bottom of de Pacific." He sighed regretfully. "Gott! I van't t' be de first Sherman to vin dot Cup too!"
The mate of the Rickmers came on the poop and said something to his captain. Schenke turned to the old man in some wonderment. . . . "Vat dis is, eh? My mate tell me dot your boys is want to speak mit me. Vat it is, Cabtin? No troubles I hope?" Burke looked as surprised as the other. "Send them up, Heinrich," he said.
All right, Cabtin, now you come on board. Ah know all 'bout it! . . . Ah pick de oder boat up in de morning, und dey tells me. You come af mit me, Cabtin. . . . Goot, no?" "Ninety-six days, Schenke, and here we are at the mouth of the Channel!" Old Burke had a note of regret in the saying. "Ninety-six days! Sure, this ship o' yours can sail.
Schenke saw the pleased look with which old Burke regarded the Yankee's preparations for departure. "Goot bizness, eh?" he said. "You t'ink you fly de flack on de Hilda nex' Sonndag, Cabtin? Veil! Ah wish you goot look, but you dond't got it all de same!" "Oh, well, Captain Schenke, we can but thry," said the old man.
If Ah dond't haf dem here, it is small sail ve can carry on de sheep." "Och, now, ye just say that, Schenke, ye just say that! But it's glad I am if we're any use t' ye." "Hundert days to Falmouth, eh?" Schenke grinned as he said it. "Vat 'bout dot bett now, Cabtin?" "Oh that," said Burke queerly. "You win, of course. I'm not quite broke yet, Captain Schenke.
Alvays de luck mit you, Cabtin!" "An' whatt ilse? . . . Sure, if I hadn't struck a bilt of calms an' had more than me share of head winds off the Horn, I'd have given ye a day or two mesilf!" "Ho! Ho! Ho! Das ist gut!" The green boat rocked with Schenke's merriment. He laughed from his feet up every inch of him shook with emotion. "Ho! Ho! Hoo! Das ist ganz gut.
Word Of The Day