“Hallo, tare!” cried Donald to the seaman, “you’ll pe ta captain?”
“Yes, all right,” replied the other; “and you’ll be a passenger for Newcastle; what have you got there?”
“My tool-chest and clothes,” replied Donald; “fery valuable, cost seven pounds ten shillings.”
“Heave them along the gunwale there,” said the seaman, “they can be stowed away afterwards; but you’re too soon, we wont heave off for an hour.”
“Ower sune is easy mended,” replied the Gael.
“And sometimes,” in a jolly way, said the other, “we have time for a dram.”
“Ay, and inclination maype too,” cried Donald, quite happy.
“Come away, then, our lockers are shut, so we’ll have it up the way, where I know they keep the real peat-reek, and I’ll pay.”
And Donald, leaving his luggage, but carrying with him a notion that the captain of the Britannia deserved to be one of her Majesty’s Admirals of the Blue, followed his guide until they entered the house of the publican, whose name I do not at present recollect. Nor was this notion in any way modified even when they were seated at the same table with three very respectable-looking men, apparently engaged in the harmless pastime of playing at cards. Nay, the notion was evidently shared by the three strangers, who, although they had clearly never seen the captain of the Britannia before, offered him, with a generosity wonderful to Donald, a share of their liquor. On his side, the generosity was equalled by his insisting that they, whom he declared he had never seen before, should take a part of his. Never was there such generous unanimity among strangers; and even Donald was included in the new-born friendship. Then the harmless play went on. There were only three cards used, two diamonds and one clubs; and the game was so simple that the Gael understood it in a moment, for it consisted in a little shuffling, and if one drew the clubs, he was the winner of the stakes. The generous captain laid down a stake of a pound; one of the players laid down another; then the cards were shuffled in so obvious a manner that a child might have seen where the clubs lay; and so to be sure the captain saw what a child might have seen, drew the slip, and pocketed the two pounds. This was repeated, until the captain pocketed six pounds; and Donald seeing fortune beckoning on, tabled one of the seven with the charmed unity. None of these men had been cut out of the belly of a shark, and so Donald M‘Beath’s seven was made eight.
“Play on,” whispered the captain, “while I go to look after your luggage.”