298 CONFESSIONS OF A BEACHCOMBER 



swerved swiftly downwards. The retreat was a second too 

 late, for Tom had seized the harpoon lying athwart the 

 boat, and though the fish appeared through a fathom and 

 a half of water, a vague, fleeting, contorted shadow, he 

 reached it. The barbed point passed through it, carrying a 

 foot or two of the line, and a 30-pounder was added to 

 our catch at one stroke and without a tremor of excitement 

 on Tom's part. 



He sailed his punt — 12 feet long and 4 feet wide — 

 6 miles, loaded with eight adults, eight piccaninnies, five 

 dogs, a cat, blankets for the crowd, and all the frowsy 

 miscellanea of a black's camp. It was not a boatload that 

 landed on the beach : it was a procession. But Tom 

 would go to sea on a chip. His skill as a sailor of small 

 boats is largely a manifestation of characteristic caution, 

 his precept being — " Subpose big seas come one, one — all 

 right. Subpose come two, two— look out ! " 



"Little Jinny" 

 In Life and in Death 



She was called " Little Jinny " to distinguish her from 

 another of the blacks about the place — a great, good- 

 natured, giggling creature who laughs perpetually and 

 grows ever fatter. There was nothing in common between 

 the two. Indeed they frequently had differences, for 

 " Jinny " proper is industrious, obliging, cheerful, and .full of 

 fun, while she, " Little Jinny," was silent, sulky, and ever 

 averse from toil. 



Tom, her men, alternately petted and beat her. She, 

 no doubt, deserved both, for she was proud and haughty 

 for a black gin, and as venomous at times as a scorpion. 

 His hand is heavy, and when he lifted it in anger poor 

 " Little Jinny " suffered — but suffered in silence. Her chas- 

 tisements were not frequent, but they seemed to increase 

 her loyalty towards her lord and master. 



From a European standpoint, " Little Jinny " had little of 



