"Jest so," sez I, "an accidental visit."
The captin gin me a squint across his nose, and then I made him a low bow, and sez I, "Jest so, but the folks seem tu be rather tickled with sich accidents, don't they?"
This seemed to kinder mollify the captin, and jest as I was a spreading myself for a new speech, a feller cum up with a great red and green and white rosy, pinned on to his coat, and he whispered tu the President, and the President looked round tu me, and sez he,
"Mr. Slick, they tell me that the collation is ready—will you go with me into the ladies' cabin, and lead down one of my fair friends?"
I made him a prime bow—a rale darnsing school smasher—and, sez I,
"Wal now, I don't know what kind of horned cattle a collation is, but seeing as it's you, I'll tackle in, if it's only tu git acquainted with a downright ginuine fair friend of your'n, captin, for folks say that your friends are purty darned unfair in a gineral way."
"Folks don't du me justice," sez he, a turning red in the gills; "No man ever had better or devoted friends on arth."
"What there is on 'em," sez I.
The captin didn't seem tu hear me, but he took out his chaw of terbacco and pitched it over the side of the boat. I dug both hands into my trousers' pockets, and sez I tu the man with the silk rosy, sez I—
"Come, now, I s'pose it's about time for you and I and the President to be a movin. Where du you keep that critter of your'n?"