Appleby could not quite restrain a chuckle, and saw a twinkle in Jordan's eyes. He nodded as he said, "I can't find fault with that, anyway. Go on with the rest of it."
"If you saw him in his usual rig you would take him for something between a stuffed sealskin and a navvy on the tramp," said Niven.
"Now, I don't know what a navvy is," said Jordan.
Niven looked at his comrade again, and Appleby tried not to laugh. "He's a man who digs drains and makes railways in our country, sir," he said.
"Well," said Jordan dryly. "It can't be tougher work than sealing. Go on."
"Still," said Niven, turning again to the letter, "he has been quite decent, and treated us a good deal better than they did on board the Aldebaran, and I fancy it would be a nice thing if——"
He stopped again. "I can't read any more of it, sir," he said, growing very flushed in the face.
"Then," said Jordan, "I figure your partner can, and one of you is going to."
Niven set his lips a moment, and then went on with a little groan, "It would be a nice thing if you wrote one of your Canadian friends to give him a cheque. There can't be much profit in sealing and——"
"I guess that will do," said Jordan, whose face grew suddenly grim. "Get hold of your pen, and knock the last piece out of it. You've done it? Then you can put this in. 'Don't worry 'bout me. Skipper Jordan will see I earn every dollar's worth of anything I get from him, and before I get home he and Donegal have hopes of licking a little sense into me.' Got that down—all of it?"