," but he really "hadn't the time
that morning." This was his first attempt at shunting the engagement;
but then, when Fritz, in the exuberance of hopeful possibilities,
offered to meet him at the same place and time on the following day,
"Nat" "couldn't think of putting him to the trouble," as he "might have
to return to New York in the boat at a moment's notice." Besides, he
said, it would be "better to put off the appointment awhile," as he'd
just heard that the "boss" of the very identical shipping firm where he
thought he could have got Fritz a berth had started "right away" for
Boston, and he was such a "durned electric eel of a cuss, here, there,
and everywhere," that it would be "just dubersome to kalkerlate" when he
would "reel his way back to hum!"

Fritz could not understand many of these very choice Americanisms;
still, he was sufficiently gifted with common sense to see pretty
plainly that all the deck hand's "tall talking" of the previous evening
had been, to use his own expressive vernacular, nothing but "bunkum,"
and that, if he wished to get any situation in the place, he must trust
more to his own good fortune than to Mr Slater's kind offices as a go-
between.

This disheartened him at the time; but when he got back to Captain
Brown's shanty later on, the worthy old skipper, noticing his
despondency, soon cheered him out of it.

"Bless you, sonny," said he affectionately, for he seemed to have taken
as great a fancy to Fritz as he had to Eric--the young fellow having
told him all his plans and prospects, besides giving him an epitome of
his adventures during the war when narrating the same for his brother's
edification,--"Bless you, sonny, nary you mind what thet ne'er-do-well
Nat Slater sez. I'd half a mind to tell you thet yesterday, when I seed
you so thick with him! Jerusalem, mister, he's a coon thet's bin allers
a loafer all his life, stickin' to nuthin' even fur a dog-watch, an' as
shifty as one o' them sculpens in the creek thaar! You jest wait an'
make yourself comf'able haar till bye-em-bye, an' I reckon we'll fix you
up to sunthin'."

The same evening, when the two brothers were alone together, and
speaking of old Captain Brown's kindness, Eric suddenly, as if in a
moment of inspiration, said, "Why should you not come along with me in
the _Pilot's Bride_ when we start next month?"

"What!" exclaimed Fritz in astonishment.

"Don't look so startled, brother," said Eric, laughing at