Obed laughed till the tears came to his eyes, and the two boys also looked amused.
"Did you believe all this, captain?" he asked.
"Why not?" asked the captain, looking offended. "My informant was a countryman of yours."
"He was stuffing you, captain."
"Stuffing me! I don't understand," said the captain, puzzled.
"He saw that you knew very little of America, and he practised a little on your credulity—isn't that the word?"
"How do I know but you are doing the same now? Probably you want to give me a favorable idea of your country."
"I only want you to judge it correctly, captain. Why, there aint no more danger of being scalped in New York than in London."
"I presume not, in New York, but I am speaking of the neighborhood of New York."
"So am I. I'll tell you what, captain, if you can find me a case of a man that's been scalped within five hundred miles of New York within the last fifty years, I'll give you my share of the reward. Of course if it's in Canada, it don't count."