“No, I’m not always late, neither,” said Jack; “I wasn’t late to breakfast, or to supper either, yesterday.” “But you didn’t come home to dinner at all,” said old Deborah, “and I kept it for you, and I kept it for you, and the ’taties all like wax in the oven, and not fit to eat.” “I didn’t want any dinner,” said Jack. “I had something to eat down at the wharf.” “Well,” said old Deborah, “you might just as well have been late as not to come at all, for I kept a-waiting and a-waiting for you till it was all dried up and wasted—aye, all wasted, and it what many a pore body ’u’d’a’ been glad enough to ’a’ had, too.” In the interval of her scolding Jack could occasionally hear the distant rumbling of Captain Butts’s voice in the office. It grew darker and darker in the twilight gloom of the kitchen, until Jack could hardly see the food upon his plate. “I wish you’d bring a candle, Deborah,” said he, “I can’t see to find the way to my own mouth.” “A candle!” said Deborah; “if you’d come to your supper in time you’d not need a candle to see. Now you may just go without.” “Very well,” said Jack, “I don’t care, for I’m done.” “Then, if you’re done, you may go down to the pump and fetch back some water.” Jack took the pail and went off with it. He was gone a long time, and the night was fairly settled when he came stumbling back into the kitchen, slopping the water upon the steps and the floor. “Why,” said Deborah, “I thought you was never coming. Your uncle’s asking for you. He’s over in the office now, and he wants to see you there.” “Very well,” said Jack, “if I’d known that, may be I’d hurried and may be I wouldn’t.” In the office he found Captain Butts seated at the tall desk, with a bottle of Hezekiah’s old Jamaica rum before him. They had been looking over some papers, and the Captain had evidently been helping himself very freely to the rum. He smelt strong of the liquor. He was leaning over the desk, his chin resting upon his fists. He looked up at Jack with his keen gray eyes from under his bushy eyebrows. “Is this the boy?” said he. Hezekiah, who sat opposite to his visitor, nodded without speaking. “Come hither, my hearty,” said Captain Butts, beckoning to Jack. Jack came forward slowly. “And so ye’re a hard one to manage, be ye? By blood! if I had ye aboard the _Arundel_ for a few days, I’d manage ye.” “Who says I’m hard to manage?” demanded Jack, indignantly. “That does your good uncle,” said the Captain. As he spoke he reached out suddenly, and catching Jack by the arm held him tight, feeling up and down the length of his arm. “Ye be well put together, my hearty,” said he; “ye’d make a valuable servant in the tobacco-fields,” and he winked tipsily as he spoke. “Now, being as ye’re so hard to manage, how’d you like it if you was to take a cruise to the Americas with old Benny Butts?”