"
"_But_ lovin' an' trustful to a degree," said Pyecroft.
"Remember when 'e told us to walk in single file for fear o' bears?
'Remember, Pye, when 'e 'opped about in that bog full o' ferns an' sniffed
an' said 'e could smell the smoke of 'is uncle's farm? An' _all_ the time
it was a dirty little out-lyin' uninhabited island. We walked round it in
a day, an' come back to our boat lyin' on the beach. A whole day Boy Niven
kept us walkin' in circles lookin' for 'is uncle's farm! He said his uncle
was compelled by the law of the land to give us a farm!"
"Don't get hot, Pritch. We believed," said Pyecroft.
"He'd been readin' books. He only did it to get a run ashore an' have
himself talked of. A day an' a night--eight of us--followin' Boy Niven
round an uninhabited island in the Vancouver archipelago! Then the picket
came for us an' a nice pack o' idiots we looked!"
"What did you get for it?" Hooper asked.
"Heavy thunder with continuous lightning for two hours. Thereafter sleet-
squalls, a confused sea, and cold, unfriendly weather till conclusion o'
cruise," said Pyecroft. "It was only what we expected, but what we felt,
an' I assure you, Mr. Hooper, even a sailor-man has a heart to break, was
bein' told that we able seamen an' promisin' marines 'ad misled Boy Niven.
Yes, we poor back-to-the-landers was supposed to 'ave misled him! He
rounded on us, o' course, an' got off easy.
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