152 Winkle: the Eel-Man 



on Winkle's body, and his skin was oily to 

 the touch, or, on land, like newly-made and 

 flexible parchment. To be in the water, he 

 always claimed, limbered him up, while too 

 long tarrying on land caused him to wrinkle 

 and crack like a dead leaf. This, his own 

 way of putting it, tells truthfully the whole 

 story. His clothing was of the simplest 

 kind, and eight months of each year he was 

 barefoot. 



It was an English gardener and poacher, 

 who came to these parts when Winkle was 

 in his prime, who gave him, with my aid, 

 the name of the " eel-man." One morning 

 I met Jimmie on the public road, and he 

 assured me that " this veek 'as been a veek 

 of ewents. Th* old woman has brown crit- 

 ters in her throat, and I've seen a man as 

 swims like a heel." 



II. 



"Winkle," I said one morning, as I 

 stood by the door of his quaint cabin, 

 " Winkle, did you ever hear of the wreck 

 of the Betsy Ann ?" 



" Wrack o' who ?" he asked, with abun- 

 dant surprise in his tones. " Wrack o' who ? 



