“Like bars—red, white and red. I do not recollect them as the colors of any nation on the face of the earth!”
“Nonsense! You have forgotten! Let me look, Justin. I am familiar with the flags of all nations,” said Britomarte, impatiently.
He adjusted the telescope for her sight, and she took a long and silent view.
“What do you make of the flag?” inquired Justin, with good-humored sarcasm.
“Red—white—red! I can make nothing of it whatever. I never saw it before.”
“Judith, you are an old salt, and have seen many a strange flag in the ports where you have stopped in your voyages to and from India. Take a look at this one, and tell us if you ever saw it before,” said Justin, as Britomarte retired from the telescope.
“Sure and so I will. Faix, if it was the flag iv purgatory itself, with Ould Nick at the helm, I’d be glad to hail it, so I would, if it would take us offen this baste iv an island,” said Judith, taking her place at the telescope and “sighting” the object.
“Well, can you make the flag out?” inquired Justin.
“Devil a bit. I niver saw the likes iv it before in all the days iv me life. Sure and I’m thinking it must be a pirate or a fraybooter,” said Judith.
“You may be right, Judith! though Heaven forbid you should be!” answered Mr. Rosenthal.