It was some Englishmen from the big coal steamer, and they were rowing straight toward the buoy, talking fast. Pshaw! how stupid it is when people talk English. Without waiting to say, “By your leave,” they took Johnny Blossom from the buoy, put him into their boat, and rowed directly to the steamship. One of the sailors scooped up some salt water in his hand and splashed it over Johnny Blossom’s tear streaked face and laughed. Then Johnny laughed, too.
If it were only German the men spoke! He had studied German for a half year now and could have managed with that language pretty well, he thought.
Here they were alongside the steamer. Well, Johnny Blossom hadn’t the least objection. How Olaf and Herman would envy him, that he should go on board the big ship after all! The steamer was full of sailors who talked and laughed and tumbled him about in rough play till Johnny Blossom bubbled over with merry laughter that rang through the whole ship.
Soon a man took him to the upper deck to the stout, ruddy captain whom Johnny Blossom knew from having seen him on the street in the town. He pinched Johnny’s ear and said a great many funny words to him, just as the other Englishmen had. Johnny pointed to the red buoy and shook his head for “No,” and pointed toward the town and nodded for “Yes.” With this he felt sure that the captain must know how the matter stood.
An oldish looking man wished Johnny to go below with him, and naturally Johnny did not need to be asked twice, even by signs! It was wonderful down there. He had never imagined there could be anything so fine on the dirty coal steamer; and just think! some crackers were brought out, and then if that funny man didn’t set a whole jar of preserves before him, too, and give him a spoon! My, oh, my! Mother ought to see him now, eating with a big spoon right from the preserve jar!
Johnny Blossom ate plentifully, while the strange man sat opposite with elbows on the table, looking at him and smiling. Suddenly the man took out a leather case and from it a photograph, which he handed across the table to Johnny. It showed two boys about Johnny’s age. The man pointed to the boys and then to himself and smiled again, and Johnny understood that these were his boys.
How curious to think that this man had two boys and that they were English! He certainly was very fond of them—this queer man with the gray beard. Now he put the photograph into the case again and into his pocket, slapped his breast and smiled. Englishmen were certainly odd, thought Johnny. And those boys—just boys like himself—could speak English without studying it. Think of that!
The man then showed Johnny over the whole steamer. Above one of the hammocks hung a picture of the same two boys; and when they came to this, the man laughed again and laid his hand upon his heart.
Then he gave Johnny a whistle—a regular boatswain’s whistle. He put it right into Johnny’s pocket, and of course that meant that he wanted to give it to him. So Johnny Blossom shook hands with him and bowed his thanks. Ah! this would be something to show to the boys at school. How he would blow and play on it.
How awfully good to him this man was! Johnny would like to ask him to take his greeting to those two boys. So Johnny pointed to the picture over the hammock, then to himself, and then far out over the sea, with his little arm stretched at full length. There! the man must surely understand anything as plain as that.