But these by-gones we now willingly allowed to be by-gones,
especially as we had had duff-pudding the day before, though it was not
Sunday--(Oh, Crayshaw's! that I should have lived to find duff-pudding a
treat--but it _is_ a pleasant change from salt meat),--and as the
captain had promised some repairs to the ship before we returned to
Halifax.
We were not long in discovering that the promise was a safe one, for he
did not mean to return to Halifax at all. Gradually it leaked out, that
when the salt fish was disposed of we were not going to take in ballast
and go back, as we had thought, but to stow away a "general cargo" of
cheap manufactured articles (chiefly hardware, toys, trumpery pictures,
and looking-glasses) and proceed with them on a trading voyage "down
south."--"West Indies," said the carpenter. "Bermuda for certain," was
another opinion; but Alfonso smiled and said, "Demerara."
"Cap'n berry poor sailor, but berry good trader," he informed us in
confidence. "Sell 'm stinking fish and buy gimcracks cheap; sell
gimcracks dear to Portugee store in Georgetown, take in sugar--berry
good sugar, Demerara sugar--and come back to New York.
Pages:
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164