"Pray," said I to the skipper, "do me the favour to desire the man to come aft here."
Straightway, who, of all the fish in the sea, should appear before my wondering eyes, but our old friend Serjeant Quacco! There was a pause, my dingy adherent keeping his vantage ground at the cabin-door, as if unwilling to trust himself within arm's length, until he knew how the land lay, and endeavouring to look very modest and sheepish; but his assumed bashfulness was but a flimsy cloak to his native impudence.
"Quacco," said I, in anger;—but before I could get a word out——
"Serjeant Quacco, if massa will be so good as remember."
"You impudent rascal," continued I, "how dare you smuggle yourself on board as my servant, and without my knowledge, after having told me that you had entered on board Gazelle?"
"Massa, do hab a leetle patient, and massa shall know every ting.—You see, massa, I was mind, as massa say, to sarve on board de Commodo—massa say de trute in dat—but dat was de time when I was tink de brigand knife had top massa him promotion."
"Cool, and deliciously modest," thought I, as Quacco continued, in nowise put out,
"But when I yeerie dat massa not only was like to cover" (recover, I surmised, was meant), "but dat he was nephew to one big somebody, wid plenty money, and, beside all dat, he was to go to Jamaica—oh dat alter Quacco taught altogeder, becaase he knowed he could be much use to massa in Jamaica, from, him knowledge of de world dere."—("Indeed!" thought I, "how very disinterested!")—"Beside," seeing I twigged, "to tell de hanest trute,—one ting wery pleasant for do when him profitable at de same time,—I taught it more better to take my chance wid you as my master, den face de sartainty of hard work, leetle sleep, and much flag, in de frigate—so I take de small liberty of ship myself in de Ballahoo lang wid good massa—dat all, massa."
"So—and pray where have you been skulking since we sailed, may I ask?"
"To be sure," said he, with the most provoking calmness,—"to be sure."