Nellie put her hand over Mrs Gilmour’s mouth.
“Hush auntie,” she cried appealingly. “You mustn’t say anything; I didn’t mean it!”
“I dare say you called me a sour old curmudgeon?” hinted the Captain, pretending to be very much grieved. “Didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t,” said Nellie, jumping up and throwing her arms round his neck to kiss him. “I think you are the dearest and kindest old Captain that ever was!”
“Humph!” he ejaculated in a smothered voice, addressing her aunt. “There’s no doubt, ma’am, where she gets the ‘blarney’ from. It runs in the family!”
“Sure an’ small blame to her either,” retorted the other defiantly. “It’s fortunate for us women that we have something wherewith to get the better of you hard men sometimes.”
“Sometimes, eh? always, I think,” growled the Captain, looking very knowing and laughing the while. “But, I won’t argue the point with you, ma’am—sure to get the worst of it if I do. Tell you what I’ll do, that is if it is agreeable to you. What say you to all of us crossing over to-morrow to the Island, eh?”
“Oh, auntie, how nice!” cried Nellie, hugging her and the Captain alternately.
Bob contented himself with uttering only the single word “jolly!”
But, the ejaculation spoke volumes, Bob’s highest appreciation being ever expressed by that expressive but slangy term “jolly!”