The body fell into the water and drifted down stream. One of the
boys for whose discipline the wanton murder was committed related the
incident to me.
CHAPTER II
GEORGE: A MIXED CHARACTER
George, who considered himself as accomplished and as cultivated as a
white man, was assisting his master in the building of a dinghy.
Contemplating the work of his unaccustomed hands in a rueful frame of
mind, the boss recited, "Thou fatal and perfidious barque, built in
eclipse and rigged with curses dark!" "Ah," said he, "you bin hear that
before, George?" "No," replied the boy; "I no bin hear 'em. What
that? Irish talk?"
A few days after, George peered into one of the rooms of the house, the
walls of which were decorated with prints, among them some studies of
the nude. He sniggered. "What you laugh at, George?" "Me laugh along
that picture--naked. That French woman, I think, Boss!" He was
evidently of opinion that all true and patriotic Irishmen talk in verse,
and in throaty tones, and that the customary habit of French ladies is
"the altogether."
Proud of his personal appearance, George shaved regularly once a week,
borrowing a mirror to assist in the operation.
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