"Yaunie, I'll ask him to eat with us. This is our English mode of settling obstacles, and making and retaining friendships. Don't you think it a good suggestion?"
"Do anything you like. Give him the Sacrament, but keep him quiet. He is very dangerous now."
The captain of the other steamer was on deck, and as soon as he got his eye on them he bellowed out in terms of unjustifiable familiarity—
"Hallo, old fellow, how are ye? So they've not sent ye to the silver mines yet?"
"No," smartly retorted the captain, with some warmth, "they've not, or I wouldn't have been here. But they d—d soon will if you don't keep your mouth shut!"
Without heeding what was said to him, the distinguished commander of the new-comer slapped his thigh vigorously with his right hand, and laughed out—
"By Joshua, you were in a tight corner, and will never be nearer being popped! [sunk]. They were furious at me, and would have blown all England up because I said I didn't know who it was."
"Oh," said the Claverhouse's commander, "that is old history. Come aboard and have breakfast with me."
"All right," said Farquarson, "I'll have a wash up, and then come. But what a darned funny thing not to blow you up with the mines. I just said to my mate, they are a lot of lazy beasts, or there's something wrong with the wires. But the mate said, 'No; he's taken them unawares.' 'Unawares be d——d!' said I; 'he's not taken these gunboat chaps unawares, for I couldn't get them to stop firing.'"
"He's off again!" interjected Yaunie.