'em for days."

"I'll go and beg his pardon. I am sorry."

"Won't be no good now, sir. Better wait till he has cooled down."

"I wish I hadn't said it, Shaddy."

"Ay, that's what lots of us feels, sir, sometimes in our lives. I hit a
man on the nose aboard a river schooner once, and knocked him through
the gangway afterwards into the water, and as soon as I'd done it I
wished I hadn't, but that didn't make him dry."

"I wish he had turned round sharply and hit me," said Rob.

"Ah, it's a pity he didn't, isn't it?" said Shaddy drily. "You wouldn't
have hit him again, of course. You're just the sort o' young chap to
let a lad hit you, and put your fists in your pockets to keep 'em quiet,
and say, `Thanky,' ain't you?"

"What do you mean--that I should have hit him again?"

"Why, of course I do, and the next moment you two would have been
punching and wrestling and knocking one another all over the boat, till
Mr Brazier had got hold of one and I'd got hold of the other, and
bumped you both down and sat upon you. I don't know much, but I do know
what boys is when they've got their monkeys up."

"Don't talk about monkeys," whispered Rob hotly; "I wish there wasn't a
monkey on the face of the earth."

"Wish again, Mr Rob, sir, as hard as ever you can, and it won't do a
bit o' good."

"Don't talk nonsense, Shaddy," said Rob angrily.

"That's right, sir; pitch into me now. Call me something; it'll do you
good. Call me a rhinoceros, if you like. It won't hurt me. I've got a
skin just as thick as one of them lovely animals. Go it."

"I do wish you would talk sense," cried Rob, in a low, earnest whisper.
"You know I've no one to go and talk to about anything when I want
advice."

"No, I don't," said Shaddy gruffly. "There's Muster Brazier."

"Just as if he would want to be bothered when his head's full of his
specimens and he's thinking about nothing else but classifying and
numbering and labelling! He'd laugh, and call it a silly trifle, and
tell us to shake hands."

"Good advice, too, my lad, but not now. Wait a bit."

"I can't wait, knowing I've upset poor old Joe like that. I want to be
friends at once."

"That's good talk, my lad, only it won't work at present."

"Ah, now you're talking sensibly and like a friend," said Rob. "But why
will it not do now?"

"'Cause Mr Jovanni ain't English. He's nursing that all up, and it
isn't his natur' to shake hands yet. Give the fire time to burn