The head man took his pipe out of his mouth and turned to his companions: “No, as I was saying, there are some folks that have nothing to do but go about and be clever.” He warned them with his eyes, the expression of his face was wooden. His companions nodded. They enjoyed the situation, as the commercial traveller could see from their doltish looks.
He was enraged. Here he was, being treated as if he were air and made fun of! “Confound you fellows! Haven’t you even learnt as much as to give a civil answer to a civil question?” he said angrily.
The fishermen looked backward and forward at one another, taking mute counsel.
“No, but I tell you what it is! She must come some time,” said the head man at last.
“What ‘she’?”
“The steamer, of course. And she generally comes about this time. Now you’ve got it!”
“Naturally—of course! But isn’t it a little unwise to speak so loud about it?” jeered the traveller.
The fishermen had turned their backs on him, and were scraping out their pipes.
“We’re not quite so free with our speech here as some people, and yet we make our living,” said the head man to the others. They growled their approval.
As the stranger wandered on down the harbor hill, the fishermen looked after him with a feeling of relief. “What a talker!” said one. “He wanted to show off a bit, but you gave him what he won’t forget in a hurry.”