Prev | Current Page 186 | Next

Cooper, James A.

"Cap'n Abe, Storekeeper"

And as he came down I seen his open knife flashing in his hand.
"Yes, my dear, that was a mem'rable leap. Talk about these fellers
jumpin' off that there Brooklyn Bridge! 'Tain't much higher.
"The mate brought the _Sally S. Stern_ up into the wind, the second's
crew got the boat over, and they picked me up in a jiffy. Then I stood
up and yelled for 'em to pull on, for I could see the man, the dog, and
the shark almost in a bunch together.
"But," concluded Cap'n Amazon, "a nigger ain't often much afraid of a
shark. When we got to 'em there was a patch of bloody water and foam;
but it wasn't the blood of neither of the Snowballs that was spilled.
They come out of it without a scratch."
"Oh, Cap'n Amazon, what a really wonderful life you have led!" Louise
said earnestly.
Cap'n Amazon's eye brightened, and he looked vastly pleased. Whenever
he made a serious impression with one of his tales of personal
achievement or peril, he was as frankly delighted as a child.
"Yes, ain't I?" he observed. "I don't for the life of me see how Abe's
stood it ashore all these years.


Pages:
174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198