“Here, old man!” called out Bill, “get into the game; here's your deck,” offering him his book. But the missionary was before him, and, with very beautiful grace, he handed the Old Timer a book and pointed him to a seat.
I shall never forget that service. As a religious affair it was a dead failure, but somehow I think The Pilot, as Hi approvingly said, “got in his funny work,” and it was not wholly a defeat. The first hymn was sung chiefly by the missionary and Mrs. Muir, whose voice was very high, with one or two of the men softly whistling an accompaniment. The second hymn was better, and then came the Lesson, the story of the feeding of the five thousand. As the missionary finished the story, Bill, who had been listening with great interest, said:
“I say, pard, I think I'll call you just now.”
“I beg your pardon!” said the startled missionary.
“You're givin' us quite a song and dance now, ain't you?”
“I don't understand,” was the puzzled reply.
“How many men was there in the crowd?” asked Bill, with a judicial air.
“Five thousand.”
“And how much grub?”
“Five loaves and two fishes,” answered Bruce for the missionary.