Hamlin--ay, he or any man of his crew. The law and I'll work together to
that end, Mr. Hamlin."
So for a long time we sat and talked of one thing and another.
When at last we went on deck, Mr. Cledd spoke to Roger of something that
had happened early in the watch. I approached them idly, overheard a phrase
or two and joined them.
"It was the cook," Mr. Cledd was saying. "He was trying to sneak aboard in
the dark. I don't think he had been drinking. I can't understand it. He had
a big bag of dried apples and said that was all he went for. I don't like
to discipline a man so late in the voyage."
"Let it pass," Roger replied. "Cook's done good work for us."
I didn't understand then what it meant; but later in the day I heard some
one say softly, "Mistah Lathrop, Ah done got an apple pie, yass, sah. Young
gen'lems dey jest got to have pie. You jest come long with dis yeh ol'
nigger."
There were tears in my eyes when I saw the great pie that the old African
had baked. I urged him to share it with me, and though for a time he
refused, at last he hesitantly consented. "Ah dunno," he remarked, "Ah
dunno as Ah had ought to. Pies, dey's foh young gen'lems and officers, but
dis yeh is a kind of ambigoo-cous pie--yass, sah, seeing you say so, Ah
will.
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