“I don’t know the Arabese for ‘heave-ho,’” laughed little Blossom, mischievously. “I could say it in American.”
“Say it in ‘American,’ then, you little rogue!” panted Judith, all her tough little muscles a-stretch for the haul.
They were presently out on the water, rocking gently with the gentle waves. And Blossom was presently shouting with delight. Her little lean, sharp face was keen with excitement.
“Now pretend—now, now, now! It’s easy to out here! The fine lady’s going abroad, Judy—do you hear? She’s going right straight over ’cross this sea, in this han’some ship! When she gets there she’ll step out on the shore an’ say what a beautiful voyage she’s had, an’ good-by to the cap’n—you’re the cap’n, Judy. An’ you’ll say, ‘Oh, my lady, sha’n’t I help you ashore?’ An’ she’ll laugh right out, it’s so ridic’lous! ‘Help me, my good man!’ she’ll ’xclaim. ‘I guess you must think I can’t walk!’”
Blossom’s face was alive with the joy of the beautiful “pretend.” But Judith’s face was sober.
“Laugh, why don’t you, Judy?” cried the child.
“I’m laugh—I mean I will, dear. But I’ve got to row like everything now, so you must do the pretending for us both. We’ve got to get out there to those traps before you can say ‘scat’!”
“Scat!” shrilled Blossom.
It was Blossom’s sharp eyes that discovered Jem Three “out there.” Judith was bending to her work.
“There’s Jemmy Three, Judy! True-honest, out there a-trapping! He looks ’s if he was coming away from our place—he is, Judy! He’s got our lobsters, to s’prise us, maybe.”