290 LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI.
I could enter protest or excuse, he was already rattling glibly away at
his benevolent work \ and when I perceived that he was misnaming
the things, and inhospitably amusing himself at the expense of an
innocent stranger from a far country, I held my peace, and let him
have his way, He gave me a world of misinformation; and the
further he went, the wider bis imagination expanded, and the more
he enjoyed his cruel work of deceit. Sometimes, after palming off a
particularly fantastic and outrageous lie upon me, he was so * full of
laugh' that he had to step aside for a -minute, upon one pretext or
another, to keep me from suspecting. I staid faithfully by him until
his comedy was finished. Then he remarked that he had undertaken
to * learn ' me all about a steamboat, and had done it; but that if he
had overlooked anything, just ask him and he would supply the lack.
* Anything about this boat that you don't know the name of or the
purpose of, you come to me and I'll tell you,' I said I would, and
took my departure; disappeared, and approached him from another
quarter, whence he could not see me. There he sat, all alone, doubling
himself up and writhing this way and that, in the throes of unap-
peasable laughter. He must have made himself sick; for he was not
publicly visible afterward for several days. Meantime, the episode
dropped out of my mind.
The thing that reminded me of it now, when I was alone at the
wheel, was the spectacle of this young fellow standing in the pilot-
house door, with the knob in his hand, silently and severely inspecting
me. I don't know when I have seen, anybody look so injured as he
did. He did not say anything—simply stood there and looked ; re-
proachfully looked and pondered. Finally he shut the door, and
started away; halted on the texas a minute; came slowly back and
stood in the door again, with that grieved look in his face; gazed
2pon me awhile in meek rebuke, then said—
* You let me learn you all about a steamboat, didn't you ? *
'Yes/I confessed.
* Yes, you did—didn't you * *
'Yes.'
* You are the feller that—^that------*
Language failed. Pause—impotent struggle for further words-^
thea he gave it up, choked out a deep, strong oath, and departed for