PART V
"FISH runnin' well outside de bar, dese days," remarked Jake one evening to several of his seagoing companions.
A large, bronze-colored negro paused in his task of rigging a line, and cast an eye to sea through the driveway.
"An' we mens bes' make de mores ob it," he observed. "Dem Septumbuh storm due soon, an' fish ain't likes eas' win' an' muddy watuh."
Jake laughed reassuringly.
"Go 'long wid yuh. Ain't yuh done know we hab one stiff gale las' summer, an' he nebber come two yeah han' runnin'."
His wife came toward him with a baby in her arms, and, giving him the child to hold, took up the mess of fish which he was cleaning in a leisurely fashion.
"Ef yuh ain't mans enough tuh clean fish no fastuh dan dat, yuh bes' min' de baby, an' gib um tuh a 'oman fuh clean!" she said scornfully, as she bore away the pan.
The group laughed at that, Jake's somewhat shamefaced merriment rising above the others. He rocked the contented little negro
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