The crew burst into tears at this lovely speech and sobbed heavily. It had quite a different effect on Sir Joseph who, forgetting all his dignity, danced about the deck in a blind fury.
“You—you impertilent presumtiful, disgracious, audastical sommon cailor,” exclaimed Sir Joseph, chopping up and transposing his letters and syllables in a perfectly ridiculous manner, “I’ll teach you to lall in fove with your daptain’s caughter! Away with him to the barkest bungeon on doard!” Of course he meant to say “the darkest dungeon on board” and would have said it if he had had his temper under proper control.
Josephine clung to Ralph and declared that as he was to be shut up in a cell, she would go with him, but they were violently torn asunder, and, a pair of handcuffs having been placed on Ralph’s wrists by the serjeant of the marines, he was taken away in custody. At this point Sir Joseph became calm and coherent again.
“And as for you, Miss Corcoran—” he began, but before he could say what he was going to say (whatever it was) Little Buttercup came forward, and exclaimed “Hold!”
“Why?” Sir Joseph asked, not unnaturally.
“Because I have a tale to unfold,” she replied.
“We are all attention,” said Sir Joseph. “Proceed.”
And Little Buttercup proceeded thus:
A many years ago,
When I was young and charming,