“The very idea! You calling the minister by his first name.”
“I’ve done it ever since I knowed him, and he wouldn’t like me to change now. Hey, Mr. McGowan?”
“Call me by my first name, Cap’n. Too much dignity doesn’t sit well on your shoulders. You needn’t mind, Miss Pipkin, for that is a habit that was formed before I became a minister, and there is no disrespect, I assure you.”
“You mean you two knowed each other before you come here?”
“You see, Mack come to me one summer when I was starting on a cruise, and he was 187 such a good sailor that we spent four seasons together after that.”
“You never told me that,” said Miss Pipkin.
“I didn’t think to, Clemmie. Mack, have some more of these waffles. They’re mighty tasty. It takes Clemmie to cook ’em to a turn.”
“Just listen to that!” rejoined the housekeeper. “He ain’t had none yet.”
The minister did the unheard-of thing: he refused the offer of waffles!
“Mack, you ain’t going to let them hypocrites and wolves in sheep’s clothing come right up and steal your appetite out of your mouth, be you?”