re no more to remind us of what we had been and
what we had got degraded down to. The others was feeling the same way
about it that I was. I knowed it, because they cheered up so, the minute
I says le's throw this truck overboard.

Well, it was going to be work, you know, and pretty solid work, too; so
Tom he divided it up according to fairness and strength. He said me and
him would clear out a fifth apiece of the sand, and Jim three-fifths.
Jim he didn't quite like that arrangement. He says:

"Course I's de stronges', en I's willin' to do a share accordin', but by
jings you's kinder pilin' it onto ole Jim, Mars Tom, hain't you?"

"Well, I didn't think so, Jim, but you try your hand at fixing it, and
let's see."

So Jim reckoned it wouldn't be no more than fair if me and Tom done a
TENTH apiece. Tom he turned his back to git room and be private, and
then he smole a smile that spread around and covered the whole Sahara to
the westward, back to the Atlantic edge of it where we come from. Then
he turned around again and said it was a good enough arrangement, and we
was satisfied if Jim was. Jim said he was.

So then Tom measured off our two-tenths in the bow and left the rest for
Jim, and it surprised Jim a good deal to see how much difference there
was and what a raging lot of sand his share come to, and said he
was powerful glad now that he had spoke up in time and got the first
arrangement altered, for he said that even the way it was now, there was
more sand than enjoyment in his end of the contract, he believed.

Then we laid into it. It was mighty hot work, and tough; so hot we had
to move up into cooler weather or we couldn't 'a' stood it. Me and Tom
took turn about, and one worked while t'other rested, but there warn't
nobody to spell poor old Jim, and he made all that part of Africa damp,
he sweated so. We couldn't work good, we was so full of laugh, and Jim
he kept fretting and wanting to know what tickled us so, and we had
to keep making up things to account for it, and they was pretty poor
inventions, but they done well enough, Jim didn't see through them.
At last when we got done we was 'most dead, but not with work but with
laughing. By and by Jim was 'most dead, too, but: it was with work; then
we took turns and spelled him, and he was as thankfull as he could be,
and would set on the gunnel and swab the sweat, and heave and pant, and
say how good we was to a poor old nigger, and he wouldn't ever forgit