gaudy old calico gown,
and had earrings in her ears. She give one look round at the schooner
and the island. Then she see us and let out a whoop like a steam
whistle.

"'Mulligatawny Sacremento merlasess!' she yells. 'Course that wa'n't
what she said, but that's what it sounded like. Then, 'fore Hammond
could stop her, she run for him and give him a rousing big hug. He was
the most surprised man ever you see, stood there like a wooden image. I
commenced to laff, but the next minute the woman come for me and hugged
me, too.

"''Fectionate old gal,' says Hammond, grinning.

"The critter in the calirco gown was going through the craziest
pantomime ever was; p'intin' off to sea and then down to deck and then
up to the sails. I didn't catch on for a minute, but Hammond did. Says
he:

"'Showing us w'ere this 'ere palatial yacht come from. 'Ad a rough
passage, it looks like!'

"Then the old gal commenced to get excited. She p'inted over the side
and made motions like rowing. Then she p'inted down the hatch and shut
her eyes and purtended to snore. After that she rowed again, all the
time getting madder and madder, with her little black eyes a-snapping
like fire coals and stomping her feet and shaking her fists. Fin'lly she
finished up with a regular howl, you might say, of rage.

"'The crew took to the boat and left 'er asleep below,' says Hammond.
''Oly scissors: they're in for a lively time if old Nutcrackers 'ere
ever catches 'em, 'ey?'

"Well, we went over the schooner and examined everything, but there
wa'n't nothing of any value nowheres. 'Twas a reg'lar nigger fishing
boat, with dirt and cockroaches by the pailful. At last we went ashore
agin and up to the shanty, taking the old woman with us. After eating
some more of them tiresome custard apples for breakfast, Hammond and me
went down to look over the schooner agin. We found she'd started a plank
running aground on the beach, and that 'twould take us a week to get her
afloat and watertight.

"While we was doing this the woman come down and went aboard. Pretty
soon we see her going back to the shanty with her arms full of bundles
and truck. We didn't think anything of it then, but when we got home
at noon, there was the best dinner ever you see all ready for us. Fried
fish, and some kind of beans cooked up with peppers, and tea--real store
tea--and a lot more things. Land, how we did eat! We kept smacking our
lips and rubbing our vests to show we was enjoyi