Pomp had a banjo in the pilot-house.
Hearing the scraping of the violin he fastened the wheel, and picking up the instrument he began to play a rattling accompaniment to the Irishman’s tune.
“Be ther hokey this is foine!” chuckled Barney, with a grin.
“Bress de lamb!” roared Pomp, in the turret. “Saw away dar, honey, saw away! I’se a-plunkin’, I is, an’ dar am gwin fo’ ter be music in de air if dis yere coon knows heself.”
“Bedad, it’s out av tune yez are entoirely!” cried the Celt. “G’way, chile! Dis ole pianner am all right. Yo’ bettah go learn how ter scrape dat dar ole caliope befo’ yo’ done try ter play tunes.”
“Watch me rattle ther spalpeen!” grinned Barney.
He suddenly changed the reel into a slow hymn, and no sooner did the coon change his accompaniment when the Celt switched off into a waltz.
Before Pomp could fairly get started into different keys and different tunes, off went Barney into still different tunes.
It made Frank and Reynard laugh at the coon, and they heard him swear, and twang and thump away wildly.
At times the air and accompaniment harmonized and were timed alike, when suddenly Barney would flip from fast to slow time, leaving the coon thumping away furiously.