Page:Bedford-Jones--Boy Scouts of the Air at Cape Peril.djvu/71

 A light came into the old mariner's eyes as at the attainment of a great triumph.

"I've done fergiven ev'y critter that done me any wrong on this hyuh globe. When it come to that 'ere varmint, I wrastled with my soul fer forty days right in this hyuh lighthouse, but I done it. I fergive him, an' ef he'd step up right this minute, I might screw up this old mug o' mine, but, blister my boots, I'd stick out my old flipper and I'd say, 'You low-down, ornery, sneakin' cuss, I fergive you that dirty trick you played on me thirty years ago, and, dang you, hyuh's my hand on it. I'd do that, fer I'm tryin' to do my bes' in this hyuh life. I'm tryin' not to think of nothin' but what's good. It's a lonesome life, but I'm doin' my bes', lads. I'm a-lettin' my light shine, and when I gets a little down in the mouth of a night, I says to myself, 'Bill Buffum, you're a fool. Think how happy you're a-makin' them sailormen out on the sea yonder,' and I cheers up immediate. "I might o' been married, lads, but when I had that sort o' thing a workin' in my head, I hed the same ailment I has now, lads. I war bow-legged, and bowlegs is a powerful drawback