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"I's got to finish dis bit of cloth to-day, Toc," said Susannah, in broken English, for she knew that Master Thursday October preferred that tongue to Otaheitan, though he could speak both, "an' it's gettin' late." "Oh, what a pity!" said TOC, with a look of mild disappointment.
"Well, I did saw the ship go farer an' farer away, an' vanish," admitted Sall; "but he didn't go into a hole that time." "Pooh!" ejaculated little Dan, "dat's 'cause de hole was too far away to be seen." Further discussion of the subject was prevented by the arrival of Thursday. "Well, Toc, you's in a hurry to-day," said little Dan, with a look of innocent insolence.
It's usual in Old England, Toc, for the man to be a deal older than the wife, but there's no law against its bein' the other way, as I knows on. All I can find on the subject is, that a man must leave his father and mother, an' cleave to his wife.
Horrified by this unexpected result, little Dan also shut his eyes, opened his mouth, and roared. The face that Charlie made in these circumstances was so ineffably funny, that Toc burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Toc was sitting on the fence watching them, and perceiving his brother's transparent hypocrisy, was chuckling to himself with great delight. Matt Quintal and Dan McCoy, at the head of two opposing groups, were engaged in playing French and English, each group endeavouring to pull the other over a rope laid on the grass between them.
Quicker than a beggar would have emptied a poor’s box they were in purgatory. “Toc toc!” “Who is there?” “The wheelwright of Coq,” said the great golfer. “But he is in a state of mortal sin,” cried the angel on duty. “Take him away from here he can’t come in.” “I cannot, all the same, let him linger between heaven and earth,” said Death; “I shall shunt him back to Coq.”
Indeed a quarter of an hour later the two travellers knocked at the gate of hell. “Toc, toc!” “Who is there?” “The wheelwright of Coq,” said the great golfer. “Don’t open the door,” cried Belzébuth; “that rascal wins at every turn; he is capable of depopulating my empire.” Roger laughed in his sleeve. “Oh! you are not saved,” said Death. “I am going to take you where you won’t be cold either.”
Just then a little black terrier came bounding forward and frisked round the Captain. "Ha!" exclaimed Edward Young, with an intelligent look, "I know that beast, Toc; it's a dog! I'm sure it is, for I have read of such things in Carteret, and father has described 'em often, so have the women. They have dogs, you know, on some islands."
Just take a grip like a brave man, heave away wi' the force of a windlass, an' don't stop for my yellin'." Thus adjured, Thursday October took the pincers, and gazed with a look of great anxiety into the cavernous mouth that Adams opened to his view. "Which one is it, father, asked Toc," rolling up his shirt sleeves to the shoulder and displaying arms worthy of Vulcan.
The first great event of that year was the birth of a son to Thursday October Christian, and if ever there was a juvenile papa who opened his eyes to the uttermost, stared in sceptical wonder, pinched himself to see if he were awake, and went away into the bush to laugh and rejoice in secret, that man was TOC.
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