"Of course not," assented the captain, "it could not be 'funny'
nohow, because 'funny' don't rhyme with 'despair'; besides, lots o'
women ain't funny a bit, an' if they was, that's no reason why a man
should die for 'em; what _is_ the word, lass?"

"What am _I_?" asked Minnie, with an arch smile, as she passed her
fingers through the clustering masses of her beautiful hair.

"An angel, beyond all doubt," said the gallant captain, with a burst
of sincerity which caused Minnie to blush and then to laugh.

"You're incorrigible, captain, and you are so stupid that it's of no
use trying to teach you."

Mrs. Brand--who listened to this conversation with an expression of
deep anxiety on her meek face, for she could not get rid of her first
idea that her brother was going to marry--here broke in with the
question,--

"When is it to be, brother?"

"When is what to be, sister?"

"The--the marriage."

"I tell you I _ain't_ a-goin' to marry," repeated the captain;
"though why a stout young feller like me, just turned sixty-four,
_shouldn't_ marry, is more than I can see. You know the old proverbs,
lass--'It's never too late to marry'; 'Never ventur', never give in';