“Glad to hear it. Now, about that young fellow.”
“By which I s’pose you mean Mr Brooke, sir?”
“The same. He has just left me, and upon my word, he’s about the coolest young fellow I ever met with.”
“That’s just what I said to the missus, sir, the very night arter we was rescued. ‘The way that young feller come off, Maggie,’ says I, ‘is most extraor’nar’. No fish that—’”
“Yes, yes, Stride, I know, but that’s not exactly what I mean: it’s his being so amazingly independent that—”
“’Zactly what I said, sir. ‘Maggie,’ says I, ‘that young feller seemed to be quite independent of fin or tail, for he came right off in the teeth o’ wind and tide—’”
“That’s not what I mean either, Captain,” interrupted the old gentleman, with slight impatience. “It’s his independent spirit I refer to.”
“Oh! I ax your pardon, sir.”
“Well, now, listen, and don’t interrupt me. But first let me ask, does he know that I am the owner of the brig that was lost?”
“Yes; he knows that.”