I fished the purse out
of my pocket, and two sovereigns out o' the purse. 'That'll take 'ee
home and back,' said I, passin' the money to Daniel. 'So long,
children! You haven't no time to spare.'
"Away they pulled, callin' back, 'God bless 'ee, father!' and the
like; words I shan't forget. . . . Poor Daniel! . . . And there, all
of a sudden, was I, left to spend Christmas alone: which didn't
trouble me at all.
"'Stead o' which, as you might say, havin' downed sail and made
things pretty well shipshape on deck, I went below and trimmed and
lit the riding light. When I came on deck with it the _Maid in Two
Minds_ was still in darkness. 'That's queer,' thought I; but maybe
the _Early and Late's_ light reminded Dog Mitchell of his, for a few
minutes later he fetched it up and made it fast, takin' an uncommon
long time over the job and mutterin' to himself all the while.
(For I should tell you that, the weather bein' so still and the
distance not a hundred yards, I could hear every word.)
"'Twas then, I think, it first came into my mind that the man was
drunk, and five minutes later I was sure of it: for on his way aft he
caught his foot and tripped over something--one o' the deck-leads
maybe--and the words he ripped out 'twould turn me cold to repeat.
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