Selwyn is going to row her and Dorothy up the river."
"The deuce he is!"
"Yes, an' they won't take me."
"Why not, my Imp?"
"'Cause they're 'fraid I should upset the boat. So I thought I'd
come ask you to be a pirate, you know. I'll lend you my best
dagger an' one of my pistols. Will you, Uncle Dick?"
"Come aboard, shipmate, if you are for Hispaniola, the Tortugas,
and the Spanish Main," said I, whereupon he scrambled in, losing a
boot overboard in his baste, which necessitated much intricate
angling with the boat-hook ere it was recovered.
"They're Peter's, you know," he explained as he emptied out the
water.
"I took them out of the harness-room; a pirate must have boots,
you know, but I'm afraid Peter'll swear."
"Not a doubt of it when he sees them," I said as we pushed off.
"I wish," he began, looking round thoughtfully after a minute or
so, "I wish we could get a plank or a yardarm from somewhere."
"What for, my Imp?"
"Why, don't you remember, pirates always had a plank for people to
'walk,' you know, an' used to 'swing them up to the yard-arm.
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