ook ter him at once. He 's a kinder
good-lookin' feller.

DARLIN': (_stirring at the pot_). He ain 't got whiskers like the
Duke.

(_She spits--must I say it?--she spits into the fire._)

DUKE: Queer that never a stick washed in.

PATCH: I 'm not denyin' yer, Duke. Where 's Red Joe now? It 's gettin'
on. I 'll jest take a look fer him. (_He takes the lantern from its
hook and stands at the open door._) It ain 't blowin' so hard. Ol'
Borealis--I speaks poetical--ain 't strainin' at his waistcoat buttons
like he was.

DUKE: Igerence! I pities yer. Borealis ain 't wind. He 's rainbows.

(_Patch-Eye goes into the night. The Duke sits to a greasy game of
solitaire._)

DUKE: It 's queer, I says. Nary a stick! Jest Red Joe on top his dory!
(_He sings abstractedly._)

[Music: PIRATE CHANTY]

Bill Bones used ter say, on many a day,
When takin' a ship fer its loot,
That a blow on the head was quickest dead
And safest and best ter boot.
But a wictim's end, fer meself I contend--
There 's a hundred been killed by me--
Is a walk, I 'll be frank, on a slippery plank,
And a splash in the roarin' sea.

(_He turns and surveys the drawing above the windows. He cocks his
head like a connoisseur, critically--with approval._)

DUKE: I 'm the artist o' that there masterpiece. The Spittin' Devil! I
done it on a rainy mornin'. Genius is queer. (_Then he sings again._)

Ol' Pew had a jerk with a long-handled dirk--
His choice was a jab in the dark--

(_He is engaged thus, fumbling with his cards, when Darlin', crossing
from the fire, interrupts him._)

DARLIN': Duke, will yer have a nip o' grog? It eases yer pipes. Yer
sounds as if yer had crumbs in yer gullet.

[Illustration: "It eases yer pipes"]

(_The Duke pushes forward his cup._)

DUKE: It 's a lovely tune, and I wrote the words meself. (_He
continues his song._)

Old Pew had a jerk with a long-handled dirk--
His choice was a jab in the dark--
And Morgan's crew, 'twixt me and you,
Considered a rope a lark.
But a prettier end, I repeat and contend--
And I 've sailed on every sea--
Is a plunge off the side in the foamin' tide.
It tickles a sailor like me.

DARLIN': Duke, does yer happen ter have a wife?

DUKE: (_deeply engaged_). Some tunes is hard, so I jest makes 'em up
as I goes along.

Blackbeard had a knife which he stuck in his wife.
Fer naggin', says