“Ah nevah had the pleas’ah of meet’n you gen’lemen befo’. Ma name’s Na’cissus Jackson, an’ Ah’m up heah f’om the south. Ah ce’t’nly am ’bliged to you fo’ this li’l breakfus’.”
We talked with Narcissus for some time. Evidently he was a victim of strong drink. He had drifted into prohibition territory, the extent of which he did not know, and out of which he had no financial means of escape.
“Ah’m on a dry island, Boss, an’ Ah don’t know how Ah’m goin’ to git off it. Ah was cook at the place wheah Ah wo’ked, an’ Ah got fiahed just ’cause Ah didn’t show up one mawnin’. They was goin’ to have me ’rested fo’ sump’n Ah didn’t have nuff’n to do with, an’ Ah come heah fo’ a li’l vacation.”
Sipes suggested that we ought to have a pilot to take us up the river, on account of its many sand-bars, that must have shifted since he was on it after ducks years ago.
“We oughta have somebody sett’n on top o’ the cab’n to yell out, an’ keep us from butt’n into sump’n w’en we’r’ tear’n up stream. This ain’t no canoe, an’ we got import’nt business an’ we don’t want to git stuck,” declared the old man.
“Theah’s a man ovah in the village named Cap’n Peppehs, that knows all about this rivah,” replied Narcissus. “S’pos’n you-all gimme a qua’tah, an’ Ah’ll go up an’ git Cap’n Peppehs fo’ you.”
I agreed to furnish the coveted coin if “Cap’n Peppehs” was produced, and our new-found friend took in his pole, climbed out over the rough stone filling, and departed for the village, which was only a short distance off. He soon reappeared, accompanied by a pompous, deep-voiced old man, with a red nose and scraggly whiskers, who looked us over with curiosity.
“My name’s Peppers. What can I do for you?” he asked in a friendly tone.
“We’r’ goin’ up the river an’ we don’t want to git messed up on no sand-bars,” replied Saunders. “If you been navigat’n’ these waters, we’d like to git you to go ’long ’til we git where we want to go.”
“If you’ll drop me off back o’ the third bend, I’ll git aboard,” said the old man. “You won’t need no pilot after that. You c’n go on up an’ not hit anythin’ but float’n snags beyond that fer three miles in that craft.”