Ned broke into laughter. “Can’t you see Miss Comfort’s hens filing ashore every morning with a big red rooster in the lead?”
“Sure,” agreed Brose. “Put up half a dozen nests and a couple of roosts across here and you’d have a fine chicken-house. Anyhow, no harm in stopping the leak.”
“I dare say she can use it for something, anyhow,” said Laurie.
“If it was me,” said Kewpie, “I’d keep ducks. Look at all the water they’d have!”
For better than an hour dust flew from bow to stern on the Pequot Queen, and the scrape of the scrubbing-brush and the slap of the mop sounded from cabin, deck, and wheel-house. To introduce water into the boiler room would have made matters only worse there, for the floor and even the walls were black with coal-dust. They cleaned out the fire-box and used the broom repeatedly and closed the doors on the scene. But by four o’clock the rest of the boat was thoroughly clean, and only sunlight and warmth were needed to complete the work. The rather worn linoleum on the cabin floor looked very different after Bob’s scrubbing brush and Kewpie’s mop had got through with it. Even the paint in there had been won back to a fair semblance of whiteness. By that time Polly and Mae, released from school, had also arrived, and the Pequot Queen resounded to eager voices. The rain had ceased and beyond the hills westward the gray clouds were breaking when, carrying pails and mop, broom and brush, the party of six went back to the shop in merry mood.
It had been very hard to keep Miss Comfort away from her new home thus far, and, since they wanted to have everything in shape before she saw it, they didn’t recount to her all that had been accomplished. “You see, ma’am,” said Laurie, “she was pretty dirty, and—”
“But I’ll attend to the cleaning,” declared Miss Comfort eagerly. “Land sakes, I don’t expect you boys to do that!”
“No, ma’am, well, now you take that hen—I mean boiler-room. That wouldn’t be any sort of work for you.”
“But it doesn’t seem right to let you young folks do so much. Why, just look at the boy’s shoes! They’re soaking wet!”
“Oh, Kewpie doesn’t mind that, Miss Comfort. Besides, I guess it’s just outside that’s wet. Isn’t it, Kewpie?”