nthony Lot, in a fuddle o' stupidity an' wonder, stared from
one t' the other, not knowin' whether t' grin or complain of our
folly. There was foul weather with-out--wind in the riggin', blowin'
in from the sea an' droppin' down over the hills, an' there was the
patter o' black rain on the roof o' the cabin. 'Tis a matter for large
surprise, it may be, that growed men, like Hard Harry an' me, should
find interest an' laughter in a gossip like that. Yet 'tis dull times
on a tradin' schooner, when trade's done for the day, an' the night's
dismal an' sodden with rain; an' with a fire in the bogie-stove
aboard, an' no lively maids t' draw un ashore to a dance or a scoff o'
tea an' cakes in a strange harbor, a man seizes the distraction that
seeks un out, and makes the best of it that he can. More than that,
an' deep an' beyond it, 'twas entertainment, an' a good measure of it,
that had come blinkin' down the deck. Afore we had time or cause for
complaint o' the botheration o' childish company, we was involved in a
brisk passage o' talk, which was no trouble at all, but sped on an'
engaged us without pause. There was that about the wee lad o'
Hide-an'-Seek Harbor, too, as a man sometimes encounters, t' command
our interest an' t' compel our ears an' our tongues t' their labor.

* * * * *

With that, then, the lad's tongue broke loose an' ran riot in his
father's praise. I never heared such wild boastin' in all my travels
afore--eyes alight with pleasure, as I thought at the time, an' tow
head waggin' with wonder an' pride, an' lips curlin' in contempt for
the fathers of all the wide world in comparison; an' had not the lad
been too tender in years for grave blame, too lonely an' forlorn for
punishment, an' of a pretty loyalty to his father's fame and quality,
pretty enough to excuse the preposterous tales that he told, I should
have spanked un warmly, then an' there, an' bade un off ashore to
cleanse his wee tongue o' the false inventions. There was no great
deed that his father hadn't accomplished, no virtue he lacked, no
piety he had not practiced; an' with every reckless, livin' boast o'
the man's courage an' cleverness, his strength an' vast adventures, no
matter how far-fetched, went a tale to enlighten an' prove it. The
sea, the ice, the timber--'twas all the same; the father o' this lad
was bolder an' wiser an' more gifted with graces than the fathers of
all other lads--had endured more