“Sounds all right to me,” replied Jack when the name had been relayed to him.
“Still, I think we might find a better one,” said Bee. “Now, let’s see—”
“Look here,” exclaimed Hal warmly, “she’s my boat and if I want to name her Corsair I guess I can. And I do. And so she is!”
“Grammatically, Hal, your construction is weak. ‘I do and so she is’ lacks—er—clarity. If I were you—”
“She’s named Corsair!” insisted Hal doggedly.
“All right; don’t get peevish about it; only it seems to Jack and me—”
“I don’t care what it seems to you,” replied Hal, slathering oil on the engine with a lavish hand. “It’s settled. I’ve named her Corsair—”
“So you remarked before. I think it’s a perfectly lovely name, don’t you, Jack? So—so original, too! By the way, what is a corsair, Hal?”
“Look it up in a dictionary,” growled Hal. “You make me tired. Always butting in—” The rest was lost in the noise of the engine.
Bee smiled sweetly. “No offence, old Hal. Say, all joking aside, what is a corsair?”