Half-Past Seven Stories Part 5

Jehosophat seemed to think so, too, for he was singing in high glee,

"Yo, ho, ho, And a bottle of bay rum."

As these last dread words died on the air, they thought they heard a sound behind them. It was something like a laugh--more, perhaps, like a chuckle. They turned and saw nothing but the high board fence of the cowyard, and, over by the barn, the Toyman, walking very swiftly towards his workshop. Now usually they would have wondered about that; tried to guess what he "would make," but this morning there were other, very grave, things taking their attention.

"Guess it was pirates--ssshhh!" whispered Jehosophat, "they may have disbarked an' be hidin' in the bushes."

But a way of escape was open. It was coming down the stream.

Jehosophat spied it.

"The very thing!" he cried.

It was a big gate which had been carried off by the flood; and it was tossed first to this side and then to the other by the brown water.

"I hope it catches on something an' stops," cried Marmaduke. And they hurried down the Brook towards the Pond. They had to walk pretty fast, too, almost run, to keep up with the gate.

Jehosophat looked ahead.

"Those big roots of the walnut tree might stop it," he said.

And sure enough the gate was caught by the roots and swung in under the branches. The water was more quiet here than out in the stream and it made a fine harbor for the ship. For, you see, after all, it was not a gate but a _ship_!

But they must make sure of their prize. So Jehosophat ran to the barn and fetched some rope. With this he made the ship fast to the trunk of the tree, that is, to the wharf in Walnut Harbour.

But there was more work to be done, for the ship had been damaged by the storm.

"You stand watch an' keep off all pirates," ordered Jehosophat. "I'll be back in three shakes of a lamb's tail."

It was rather a scary thing to stand guard all alone with pirates around, but Marmaduke stuck by the ship and Jehosophat went on his errand.

As he entered the door, the Toyman hid something, quite hurriedly, under a sack. Now that was very mysterious, but the messenger only said to himself, "Guess he's making something for my birthday," then asked aloud,--

"Please, may I have some boards and some nails?"

"To be sure, Mr. Ship's Carpenter."

It was fine to be called that, though Jehosophat wondered how the Toyman knew what he was, when they hadn't told a soul. But then the Toyman knew most everything, all their plans as soon as made.

It didn't take long to mend that ship. Soon the boards were nailed across and the deck was ready for the crew.

"All aboard!" shouted Jehosophat, and then even more loudly,--

"All ash.o.r.e that's goin' ash.o.r.e!"

Having said this very splendidly, he turned to his brother.

"I'm Captain Kidd," he told him.

"And what's me?" shouted back Marmaduke excitedly, and excitement is always bad for grammar.

"Oh, you! You're my slave," his brother informed him--in a very grand manner.

This didn't seem to suit Marmaduke, and he tried hard to remember a name Reddy Toms had told him, out of a book of Reddy's, all about pirates and things. But he couldn't think of it at all.

Just then a voice shouted,--

"What ho, d.i.c.k Deadeye!"

It was the Toyman, who had been standing in the doorway watching them.

"d.i.c.k Deadeye--whew!" Marmaduke rolled the name under his tongue like something that tasted very nice. He was completely satisfied now.

Then something still nicer happened, for, when their backs were turned, something whistled through the air and fell at their feet.

Real swords! One for each of them! Now we said they were _real_ swords, and they were, though they were made of wood. They could do a lot of damage. The pirates would find that out soon enough. And there was a flag, too, with bones and a skull on it, just as Jehosophat had said.

"Why, it's the Jolly Roger," he told his brother, "that's what they call this flag."

But where did they come from? Marmaduke sort of suspected the Toyman, but he had disappeared, and Jehosophat said,--

"They must have dropped from Heaven an' were sent us to 'venge the people the pirates have killed. It's a sign. Guess we're not pirates after all, but just good sailors an' we'll scrunch those pirates."

Then he thought for a moment.

"But I guess we'll keep this flag anyway, even if it is the pirates'."

And they kept their names as well. They were far too fine to give up.

But just as they were about to go aboard, the Toyman came to the sh.o.r.e.

"What ho!" he said, then again, "what ho!"

That sounded exciting--not like a game at all, but like real life! And he was "saying some more,"--

"Avast, me hearties, what's in the wind?"

This last was a very odd question, for whatever could be in the wind, when you can see right through it and it can't hold anything at all.

Strange talk it was, to be sure, and the neighbors would never have understood it. Still, folks never understood the Toyman and his language anyway, but _they_ did, and Marmaduke called,--"Come 'n, Toyman," when Captain Kidd corrected him.

"Pshaw! That's not the way to say it. You just listen to me."

Then he raised his hands to his mouth like a trumpet and called,--

"Ho, there, you landlubber, will you ship with us?"

The Toyman touched his hat.

"Thankee kindly, Cap'n, but I've killed many a pirate in my time. Now it's _your_ chance. But it's blowin' great guns an' ye'd better cruise near sh.o.r.e."