“He’s went to git a job,” said Gettysburg.  “He called us all a lot of babies.  I doggone near kicked him in the lung.”

Outside, where a wagon had halted with Van’s new purchases, the driver hauled out two respectable boxes and dropped them on the earth.

“What’s that?” demanded Napoleon, leaping to his feet.  “If it’s pirates come to board us again——­”

“Don’t scare it away,” Van interrupted warningly.  “It’s grub.”

With one accord the three old cronies started for the door of the tent.  Van followed, prepared to get a dinner under way, since his system was woefully empty.

To the utter astonishment of all, a visitor was bustling up the hill.  It was Mrs. Dick.

“Where’s Van?” she panted, while still a rod away.  “Here, Van!” she exclaimed, the moment she clapped her eyes upon him, “you’re just the one I want to see, and I’m an awful busy woman, but I’ve got to make a deal with you and the sooner it’s over the better.  So as long as Charlie Sing is cookin’ our victuals already I just run up to fight it out, and we might as well begin the program tonight, so all you boys come down to dinner in just about half an hour.”

The men were all at sea, even Napoleon, who had once sailed a near-briny river.

“Sit down,” said Van, “and give the grounds a chance to settle.  We can almost see daylight through what you said, but who, for instance, is Charlie Sing?”

“As if you didn’t know!” Mrs. Dick responded warmly.  “If you think I’m goin’ to call that Chinaman Algy, or anything white, you’re way off your ca-base!  Algy! for a Chinaman!  Not but what he’s a good enough cook, and I like him as a friend of yours—­and him almost makin’ me cry with his tryin’ to nurse you four old helpless galoots, but I draw the line at fancy names, and don’t you forget it!”

The “four old galoots” looked at one another in bewilderment.  Van led Mrs. Dick gently but firmly to a box of provisions and pushed her down upon it.

“Now take a breath,” he said, “and listen.  Do we understand you to say that Algy has gone to your boarding-house and taken a job as cook?”

“He has,” said Mrs. Dick, “but I’ve named him Charlie.”

“That’ll turn his stomick,” ventured Gettysburg gravely.  “He was proud of ‘Algy.’”

“He certainly must be desperate,” added Van.  “I don’t quite savvy how it happened.”

“Oh, you don’t?” said little Mrs. Dick.  “Well, I do.  He come down there and says to me, says he, ‘We’re broke, Van and us,’ he says, ’and I’ll go to work and cook for you if you’ll board all the family,’ or words to that effect, says he, ’and give Van twenty dollars a month, salary,’ he says, and I says I’ll do it, quicker than scat.  And that’s all there is to say, and if Charlie wasn’t a Chinaman I’d kiss him in the bargain!” With a quick, impatient gesture she made a daub at her eye and flecked away a jewel.