He shook his head, as though overcome by recollections. "I've heard something about you and your partner, Mr. Drew." "Yes?" "In fact, it seems to be a rather unusual story." "Well, it ain't common. John Bard! I'll tell the world there was a man." "Yes, he was." "What's that?" "He must have been," answered Anthony, "from all that I've heard of him. I'm interested in what I scrape together about him. You see, he carries the same name." "That's nacheral. How long since you ate?" "Last night." "The hell! Starved?" "Rather." "It's near chow-time. Will you eat now or wait for the reg'lar spread?" "I think I can wait, thank you." "A little drink right now to help you along, eh?" He strode over and opened the door. "Hey! Shorty!" For answer there came only the wail of an old pirate song. "Oh, my name's Sam'l Hall--Sam'l Hall; My name's Sam'l Hall--Sam'l Hall. My name is Sam'l Hall, And I hate you one an' all, You're a gang of muckers all-- Damn your eyes!" "Listen!" said Lawlor, turning to his guest with a deprecating wave of the hand. "A cook what sings! Which in the old days I wouldn't have had a bum like that around my place, but there ain't no choosin' now." The voice from the kitchen rolled out louder: "I killed a man, they said, so they said; I killed a man, they said, so they said. I killed a man they said, For I hit 'im on the head, And I left him there for dead-- Damn your eyes!" "Hey! Shorty Kilrain!" bellowed the aggravated host. He turned to Bard. "What'd you do with a bum like that for a cook?" "Pay him wages and keep him around to sing songs. I like this one. Listen!" "They put me in the quad--in the quad; They put me in the quad--in the quad. They put me in the quad, They chained me to a rod, And they left me there, by God-- Damn your eyes!" "Kilrain, come here and make it fast or I'll damn your eyes!" He explained to Bard: "Got to be hard with these fellers or you never get nowhere with 'em." "Yo ho!" answered the voice of the singer, and approached booming: "The parson he did come, he did come; The parson he did come--did come. The parson he did come, He looked almighty glum, He talked of kingdom come--. Damn your eyes!" Shorty loomed in the doorway and caught his hand to his forehead in a nautical salute. He had one bad eye, and now it squinted as villainously as if he were the real _Sam'l Hall_. "Righto sir. What'll you have, mate?" "Don't mate me, you igner'nt sweepin' of the South Sea, but trot up some red-eye--and gallop." The ex-sailor shifted his quid so that it stuck far out in the opposite cheek with such violence of pressure that a little spot of white appeared through the tan of the skin. He regarded Lawlor for a silent moment with bodeful eyes. "What the hell are you lookin' at?" roared the other. "On your way!" The features of Kilrain twitched spasmodically.