The captain, who was a large, good-natured man, laughed noisily at the response and then said: “I guess you’re a Yankee?”
“I am not a Yankee,” retorted Reuben. “I come from Pain Court.”
“Whew!” whistled the captain. “You’re a youngster to be so far away from home. How old are you?”
“I’ll be sixteen my next birthday.”
“Is that so? You’ll be quite an old gentleman soon if you don’t look out. I guess you had better go back and tell your boss that we can strike up some kind of a deal, if he doesn’t want too much for his furs.”
“Shall I take that message?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you going to write a letter?”
“I hadn’t thought anything about it. Can you write?”
“Yes,” answered Reuben.