“He was reachin’ out for the johnnycake, but I pulled it out of his way.

“‘Wait a minute, Mr. Williams,’ says I.  ‘While you was snoozin’ last night I made out a kind of manifest of the vittles aboard this shanty.  ‘Cordin’ to my figgerin’ here’s scursely enough to last one husky man a week, let along two husky ones.  I paid consider’ble attention to your preachin’ yesterday and the text seemed to be to look out for number one.  Now in this case I’m the one and I’ve got to look out for myself.  This is my shanty, my island, and my grub.  So please keep your hands off that johnnycake.’

“For a minute or so he set still and stared at me.  Didn’t seem to sense the situation, as you might say.  Then the red biled up in his face and over his bald head like a Fundy tide.

“‘Why, you dummed villain!’ he shouts.  ‘Do you mean to starve me?’

“‘You won’t starve in a week,’ says I, helpin’ myself to pork.  ’A feller named Tanner, that I read about years ago, lived for forty days on cold water and nothin’ else.  There’s the pump right over in the corner.  It’s my pump, but I’ll stretch a p’int and not charge for it this time.’

“‘You—­you—­’ he stammers, shakin’ all over, he was so mad.  ’Didn’t I hire you—­’

“‘You hired me to take you out to the fishin’ grounds and back, provided the launch was made ready by you.  It wa’n’t ready, so that contract’s busted.  And you was to furnish your extrys and I was to furnish mine.  Here they be and I need ’em.  It’s as legitimate a deal as ever I see; perfect case of supply and demand—­supply for one and demand for two.  As I said afore, I’m the one.’

“‘By thunder!’ he growls, standin’ up, ‘I’ll show you—­’

“I stood up, too.  He was fat and flabby and I was thin and wiry.  We looked each other over.

“‘I wouldn’t,’ says I.  ‘You’re under the doctor’s care, you know.’

“So he set down again, not havin’ strength even to swear, and watched me eat my breakfast.  And I ate it slow.

“‘Say,’ he says, finally, ’you think you’re mighty smart, don’t you.  Well, I’m It, I guess, for this time.  I suppose you’ll have no objection to sellin’ me a breakfast?’

“‘No—­o,’ says I, ’not a mite of objection.  I’ll sell you a couple of slices of pork for five dollars a slice and—­’

“‘Five dollars a—!’ His mouth dropped open like a main hatch.

“‘Sartin,’ I says.  ’And two slabs of johnnycake at five dollars a slab.  And a cup of coffee at five dollars a cup.  And—­’

“‘You’re crazy!’ he sputters, jumpin’ up.

“‘Not much, I ain’t.  I’ve been settin’ at your feet larnin’ high finance, that’s all.  You don’t seem to be onto the real inwardness of this deal.  I’ve got the grub market cornered, that’s all.  The market price of necessaries is five dollars each now; it’s likely to rise at any time, but now it’s five.’

“He looked at me steady for at least two more minutes.  Then he got up and banged out of that shanty.  A little later I see him down at the end of the sand spit starin’ out into the fog; lookin’ for a sail, I presume likely.