United States or Singapore ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
She had come to love old Aunt Alvirah so much, and have such a deep affection and pity for the miserly miller, that the joy of going back to Briarwood was well tempered with remorse. The night before, Uncle Jabez had come to Ruth, when she was alone, and thrust a roll of coin in her hand. "Ye'll want some ter fritter away as us'al, Niece Ruth," he had said in his most snarling tone.
'Posh, he say, 'here's a letter with some money I niver expected to git, he say. 'That's a good job, when just then the boom come over wallop and caught him fair on the side of his hid, and knocked him oover into the harbour like one o'clock. He was a wearin' of his topper same as us'al, and all of a sudden up he come agin just as Jack an' me was raychin' oover arter him.
I did use to watch en, and he did always look the same sorrowful and anxious, and one day I did call out to en, soft like, 'What be thinkin' on, man? The us'al thing, I s'pose? He did scraggle his head a bit round on the pillow and squint back at me. 'What mid that be? says he. 'Why, says I, 'the girl I left behind me! 'Be that what you be a-thinkin' on? says he.
Then up from a side gulch appeared twice as many other Indians, armed with spears and guns. Several shots were fired at the party approaching the town. "Lawsy-massy!" yelled Washington White. "Disher don't seem like de us'al 'Welcome to our City' warcry. Dem fellers don't want us nohow!" "Now we see just how popular we are with the natives of Alaska," said Jack. "What do you think of it, Mark?"
"Land bless ye, no!" cried the old man, with a shocked sincerity there was no doubting. "I never harmed any one in all my life. But I was feelin' so good over savin' ye that I had to have my little joke. I was out this mornin' as us'al, after meat for my cats. I have to work hard to keep 'em in meat, mister. I can't stand round and see my kitties starve no, s'r!
Who'd ever ha' thought o' Giles Maine walkin' in like a lard wi' presents for us all?" But Giles was looking round with a foolish wavering sort of smile. "It'd seem real homely in here," he remarked. "Ah! it do fur sure. There be the papers as us'al, I see I do miss papers awful out yonder." "Why, to be sure," cried one of the younger men, "you can buy 'em for yourself now.
"Mich the same as us'al, thank ye," replied Miss Hep. with a starched air. "Get out o' the road, Alice," addressing an adventurous pullet. "Thou'rt allus runnin' under a body's feet. Chuck! chuck! chuck! Coom G'arge, coom Adylaide, coom Maud! Now then, Alexandra! Chuck! chuck! coom lovies! That theer vicious Frederick has been a-chivying of you till you're freetened to death, you are."
Queer enough I 'd seed him a-fishin'. I never knowed he was a min'ster; he did n't look like one. He went about like a real fisherman, with ole clo'es an' an ole hat with hooks stuck in it, an' big rubber boots, an' he fished, reely fished, I mean ketched 'em. I guess 't was that made me liss'n a leetle sharper 'n us'al, for I never seed a fishin' min'ster afore.
The dog was about the only critter aboard he seemed to cotton to. Nothin' was too good for the dog, and the only way I got Bill to sign on was by agreeing to take the Newfoundland along. "Well, we got around the Horn much as us'al. Windjammers all have their troubles there.
Sometimes he chuckled and nodded, anon he scowled, and more than once he rapped his bootleg soundly with the whip. "The little rascal!" he said at last. "And he could have stayed with us, hived up as us'al in the winter with only the critters to nuss and tend, and been sure of his three squares. "What does he rather do, but work and slave, and almost freeze and starve jest to git what, I ax ye?"
Word Of The Day