"Indeed. I'm afraid so, my dear—in fact, he don't deny it!" whispered back the matron.
"Well, I think it's strange a man that smuggles can't lie!"
"Well, I don't know, my dear—may be he thinks it's no harm to smuggle, and he knows it would be a sin to lie. But where is your uncle, Miss Capitola?"
"Gone around to the stable to blow Jem up for mounting on a lame horse. He swears Jem shall find another master before to-morrow's sun sets. But now I want to talk to that bold buccaneer. Say, you sir, show me your foreign goods—I'm very fond of smugglers myself!"
"You are right, my dear young lady! You would give poor sailors some little chance to turn an honest penny!"
"Certainly! Brave fellows! Show me that splendid fabric that shines like cloth of gold."
"This, my young lady, this is a real, genuine China silk. I bought it myself in my last cruise in the streets of Shanghai, where the long-legged chickens——"
"And fast young men come from! I know the place! I've been along there!" interrupted Capitola, her gray eyes glittering with mischief.
"This you will perceive, young lady, is an article that cannot be purchased anywhere except——"
"From the manufactory of foreign goods in the city of New York, or from their traveling agents!"