“No, Sir.”
“Do you swear?”
“Not for amusement; only under pressure.”
“Do you chew?”
“No, sir, never; but I must smoke.”
“Did you ever do any steering?” was Bixby’s next question.
“I have steered everything on the river but a steamboat, I guess.”
“Very well; take the wheel and see what you can do with a steamboat. Keep her as she is—toward that lower cottonwood, snag.”
Bixby had a sore foot and was glad of a little relief. He sat down on the bench and kept a careful eye on the course. By and by he said:
“There is just one way that I would take a young man to learn the river: that is, for money.”