270 The Story of the New England Whalers 



you and your men sit down here behind the house, 

 and I'll go to work for to cook you a breakfast. Of 

 course I didn't expect company, and so I haven't 

 got none ready at present; but there's plenty 

 here and I won't be long a-gittin' of it.' Well, 

 she takes a stick that looked somethin' like a 

 boat's tiller and away she went into the grove 

 of cocoanuts, and we seen her a-runnin' back 

 and forth a-strikin' at somethin' on the ground, 

 but whatever it was we didn't know, and to tell 

 the truth we didn't care. Fact was we was all 

 pretty well tuckered out, and gittin' where all 

 things was comfortable and a good breakfast 

 promised us, we jist give up and stretched down 

 onto the grass and went to sleep. The old man 

 sot the example, and I heerd him a-borin' pump- 

 log afore I dropped off. I was woke up by 

 one of the finest smells of cookin' I ever smelt, 

 and it fetched me right up onto my feet to onct, 

 and I went along to where the woman had her 

 fire, jist some stones with a fire built onto 

 'em, and found that what I smelt come from 

 a big sasspan which she had over the fire. 'Wait 

 a few minits,' says she; 'it's a'most done; and if 



