United States or North Macedonia ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
"I'd have worked my hands to the bone for 'im, Poll, if 'e'd ONLY said the word." The one drawback to marriage with "you know 'oo" would have been his infirmity. "Some'ow, Polly, I can't picture myself dragging a husband with a gammy leg at my heels." From this, Tilly's mind glanced back to the suitor who had honourably declared himself.
He pitched the piece of `gammy duff' he was carving on his plate, which, by the way, was as hard as a brickbat, with the raisins or `gammies' which it contained barely at signal distance apart, right up above his head to the deck beam, where it caught on to one of the hooks and remained a fixture. "Bedad, Tom, ye're an anjul if ivver ther wor one," he cried, capering about as if he were mad.
He was himself one of the finest built and most powerful men I had ever met, not thirty years of age, and had achieved a great reputation as a long-distance swimmer and good all-round athlete. "Why, Mr. Drake, that dingy must weigh three hundred pounds, if she weighs an ounce, for she's heavy oak built! And yet with one gammy hand he can put her over the side as if she was made of brown paper."
As for the other townies, they enjoyed it like a play. "Gom!" said one. "He's trod on Tim's gammy toe." "Damn if he don't turn on 'is missus when 'er does that," said another. The Colonel and Margaret were looking back when I drew level. "Anything the matter?" he asked. "The spy is discovered, sir," I said. "Does that mean harm to Master Freake?" inquired Margaret. "Not it," replied the Colonel.
It's what I'm looking fur." "Oh, pshaw!" replied the young skipper. "What a gammy old croaker you are. They won't start to-day, anyhow. But here, take her a minute, while I go aloft for one more look before sundown to make sure."
"You're in luck, my lads," said patronisingly the first-class boy, with a double stripe on his arm, who had been deputed to fetch our food, we having no cook or captain of our mess appointed yet. "Not many gits sich a chance on first j'ining!" "Why?" asked I "how's that?" "It's pay-day to-day, being Thursday; and so you'll have roast mutton and gammy duff for dinner, let alone your pay, mate."
It was then she began to applaud her own foresight, which had discerned the mark of reprobation in that vicious boy, and launched out in comparison between him and Gammy, who, she observed, was a child of uncommon parts and solidity, and, with the blessing of God, would be a comfort to his parents, and an ornament to the family.
"I don't fancy any of us will get fat on our pay," said I, with a grin, in response to his chaff. "But, what's `gammy duff' I never heard tell of such a thing before?" "Plum puddin', with raisins in it, stoopid," he quickly sang out, we darting off, on catching sight of our friend the ship's corporal, who just then popped his head out of the office to see how we were getting on.
"Sure, sor, the toob toombled down atop ov this poor bhoy here, an' a'most made gammy duff ov him!" "Well, well, p'raps y'll have better luck next time," replied the man jokingly; and, turning to me, he said in a kindly way, "A miss is as good as a mile, my lad; but, accident or no accident, you'll have to clear up that mess there, or there'll be ructions aboard, I can tell you!"
Word Of The Day