"Cataract?" said Bob.
"Cat-as-trophe, I guess you mean," said Tom.
"One o' the two. I dun'no' which," said the old sailor. "I ain't never been particular about cats."
And then he rose up and walked away, leaving the two boys wishing they had brought a few pins along with them to stick into him to see whether his legs were really cork and wood, as he had said.
AN EXPLANATION.
"Jacky, you ought to be ashamed of yourself," said Mrs. Harkins to her boy. "Mr. Hayseed tells me you picked all his cantaloupes and threw them into the well."
"I did it for you," pleaded Jacky.
"Me?" cried his mother.
"Yes, I did," said Jacky. "They was only muskmelons, and you said you liked watermelons best, so I put 'em in the well."