Page:Silver Shoal Light.djvu/225

 wish I could tell you what-all we have been doing, but it's verboten, as the Hun would say."

"Submarines been biting the bottom?" Jim suggested.

"Something like that," Steve agreed. "Shove the sea-dust, will you?"

Then he blushed violently, as Jim passed him the salt.

"You certainly must excuse me, Mrs. Pemberley," he stammered hastily. "We get mighty rough, living on the boats. We get to calling things by the greatest names! You see, we're likely to say 'slide the grease,' when we mean 'pass the butter,' and 'sling the red lead,' instead of 'hand me the tomato catsup.' I guess I'm a pretty bad example for Garth," he said, looking across the table.

Garth, who was having supper with the family on this occasion, was absorbing these phrases with great relish and possibly storing them up for future use.

"I got poor Mother all upset when I was home this time," Steve said, "because I forgot to go easy on the sea-slang, and Shirley soaked it all up and then shot it off at the wrong time, when there were grand folks calling, or something. She's my sister, Miss Kirkland.