“I didn’t come here to peel potatoes,” he said loftily.
“Oh, indeed,” said the skipper politely; “an’ wot might you ’ave come for, if it ain’t being too inquisitive?”
“To fight the enemy,” said Ralph shortly.
“Come ’ere,” said the skipper.
The boy came slowly towards him.
“Now look ’ere,” said the skipper, “I’m going to try and knock a little sense into that stupid ’ed o’ yours. I’ve ’eard all about your silly little games ashore. Your father said he couldn’t manage you, so I’m goin’ to have a try, and you’ll find I’m a very different sort o’ man to deal with to wot ’e is. The idea o’ thinking this ship was a pirate. Why, a boy your age ought to know there ain’t such things nowadays.”
“You told me you was,” said the boy hotly, “else I wouldn’t have come.”
“That’s just why I told you,” said the skipper. “But I didn’t think you’d be such a fool as to believe it. Pirates, indeed! Do we look like pirates?”
“You don’t,” said the boy with a sneer; “you look more like—”
“Like wot?” asked the skipper, edging closer to him. “Eh, like wot?”