Cap’n Pem was still at the cottage and welcomed the boys vociferously.
“Was jes’ a-tellin’ Lem ’bout you two scallywags,” he cried. “What ye been up to now? Egging, eh? Well, fresh eggs is allers mighty good. What’s that? Let these two kids o’ Hen’s stump ye! Didn’t the skipper tell ye every one on Tristan’s a goat! Jes’ the same, I’ll bet ye can lick ’em at navigatin’! How about it, boys?”
“Reckon they could,” admitted Paul. “Us can use a sextant though. Dad taught us.”
“I’ve been a-swappin’ yarns with Lem ever since I got here,” chuckled the old whaleman. “When two ol’ sailormen git to gammin’ arter thirty year there’s a tarnation lot to chin erbout. Derned if I hadn’t jes’ been tellin’ ’bout the _Hector’s_ crew o derelicts. Thought Lem’d bust hisself a-laffin’ ’bout havin’ a mate an’ bo’sun both with timber legs an’ a dummy an’ a one-eyed chap aside. Reg’lar home fer cripples, eh?”
“Shucks!” laughed the old islander. “Ye be’nt no cripple, Pem Potter. Why, I sw’ar to goodness, ye’re a better man an’ mate wi’ one leg than many a body wi’ twain. Aye, if ye had none at all ye’d still be middlin’ hard to beat. ’Tis the head an’ heart that makes a body a man, lad, not the legs.”
Then, turning to Tom and Jim, he continued, “Pem tells me ye laddies are main daft o’er yarns o’ the sea. Did he e’er tell ye o’ how he lost his leg?”
“No, sir,” replied Tom promptly. “We never asked him about it.”
“Then, do. Belike he’ll yaw an’ jibe an’ luff a bit, but ’tis no yarn to be ashamed on.”
“Do tell us about it?” begged Tom. “You’ve told us lots of yarns about other men so tell us about yourself.”
“I’ll be derned ef I will,” declared Pem. “Ef this dod-gasted ol’ shellback farmer o’ a cousin o’ mine wants ye to know ’bout my dumb foolishness, jes’ git him to tell ye. Reckon he knows more ’bout it than I do, anyway.”
“Well won’t you tell us then, Mr. Potter?” asked Jim. “I guess Cap’n Pem’s too modest.”
“Aye, that I will,” assented the other. “But first, ye laddies’ll eat. ’Tis humble fare we offer, but fresh an’ wholesome. So sit ye down. Ah, here’s Henry!”
While they had been talking, Paul and Getty’s mother had been preparing the table and the savory odor of appetizing food filled the little room, and as Lem finished speaking a tall, stalwart man appeared in the doorway. Greeting his visitors cordially, the schoolmaster welcomed the boys to his home and the island and apologized for not being on hand before, explaining that he had been on a visit to a family on the other side of the hill and had just heard of the _Hector’s_ arrival.