"Indeed, I hope not, Porges,--why do you ask?"
"Well,--"cause my Auntie Anthea"s "fraid you do."
"Is she--hum!--Why?"
"When she came to "tuck me up," last night, she sat down on my bed, an"
talked to me a long time. An" she sighed a lot, an" said she was "fraid I didn"t care for her any more,--which was awful" silly, you know."
"Yes, of course!" nodded Bellew.
"An" then she asked me why I was so fond of you, an" I said "cause you were my Uncle Porges that I found under a hedge. An" then she got more angrier than ever, an" said she wished I"d left you under the hedge--"
"Did she, my Porges?"
"Yes; she said she wished she"d never seen you, an" she"d be awful" glad when you"d gone away. So I told her you weren"t ever going away, an"
that we were waiting for the Money Moon to come, an" bring us the fortune. An" then she shook her head, an" said "Oh! my dear,--you mustn"t believe anything he says to you about the moon, or anything else, "cause he tells lies,"--an" she said "lies" twice!"
"Ah!--and--did she stamp her foot, Porges?"
"Yes, I think she did; an" then she said there wasn"t such a thing as a Money Moon, an" she told me you were going away very soon, to get married, you know."
"And what did you say?"
"Oh! I told her that I was going too. An" then I thought she was going to cry, an" she said "Oh Georgy! I didn"t think you"d leave me--even for him." So then I had to s"plain how we had arranged that she was going to marry you so that we could all live happy ever after,--I mean, that it was all settled, you know, an" that you were going to speak to her on the first--opportunity. An" then she looked at me a long time an" asked me--was I sure you had said so. An" then she got awful" angry indeed, an" said "How dare he! Oh, how dare he!" So a course, I told her you"d dare anything--even a dragon,--"cause you are so big, an" brave, you know. So then she went an" stood at the window, an" she was so angry she cried,--an" I nearly cried too. But at last she kissed me "Good night"
an" said you were a man that never meant anything you said, an" that I must never believe you any more, an" that you were going away to marry a lady in London, an" that she was very glad, "cause then we should all be happy again she s"posed. So she kissed me again, an" tucked me up, an"
went away. But it was a long, long time before I could go to sleep, "cause I kept on thinking, an" thinking s"posing there really wasn"t any Money Moon, after all! s"posing you were going to marry another lady in London!--You see, it would all be so--frightfully awful, wouldn"t it?"
"Terribly dreadfully awful, my Porges."
"But you never _do_ tell lies,--do you, Uncle Porges?"
"No!"
"An"--there _is_ a Money Moon, isn"t there?"
"Why of course there is."
"An" you _are_ going to marry my Auntie Anthea in the full o" the moon, aren"t you?"
"Yes, my Porges."
"Why then--everything"s all right again,--so let"s go an" sit under the hay-stack, an" talk "bout ships."
"But why of ships?" enquired Bellew, rising.
""Cause I made up my mind, this morning, that I"d be a sailor when I grow up,--a mariner, you know, like Peterday, only I"d prefer to have both my legs."
"You"d find it more convenient, perhaps."
"You know all "bout oceans, an" waves, and billows, don"t you Uncle Porges?"
"Well, I know a little."
"An" are you ever sea-sick,--like a "landlubber?""
"I used to be, but I got over it."
"Was it a very big ship that you came over in?"
"No,--not so very big, but she"s about as fast as anything in her cla.s.s, and a corking sea-boat."
"What"s her name?"
"Her name?" repeated Bellew, "well, she was called the--er "Silvia.""
"That"s an awful" pretty name for a ship."
"Hum!--so so,--but I have learned a prettier, and next time she puts out to sea we"ll change her name, eh, my Porges?"
"We?" cried Small Porges, looking up with eager eyes, "do you mean you"d take me to sea with you,--an" my Auntie Anthea, of course?"
"You don"t suppose I"d leave either of you behind, if I could help it, do you? We"d all sail away together--wherever you wished."
"Do you mean," said Small Porges, in a suddenly awed voice, "that it is--your ship,--your very own?"
"Oh yes-"
"But,--do you know, Uncle Porges, you don"t look as though you had a ship--for your very own, somehow."
"Don"t I?"
"You see, a ship is such a very big thing for one man to have for his very own self. An" has it got masts, an" funnels, an" anchors?"
"Lots of "em."
"Then, please, when will you take me an" Auntie Anthea sailing all over the oceans?"
"Just so soon as she is ready to come."
"Then I think I"d like to go to Nova Zembla first,--I found it in my jogafrey to-day, an" it sounds nice an" far off, doesn"t it?"
"It does, Shipmate!" nodded Bellew.
"Oh! that"s fine!" exclaimed Small Porges rapturously, "you shall be the captain, an" I"ll be the shipmate, an" we"ll say Aye Aye, to each other--like the real sailors do in books,--shall we?"
"Aye, aye Shipmate!" nodded Bellew again.
"Then please, Uncle Por--I mean Captain,--what shall we name our ship,--I mean the new name?"