"Dis forenoon wen I see Mass' Tom agwine I'se go down to de warf an' dere I see um lilly boat lyin' widout nobody a-mindin' it; so I'se jump in and row out ob de harbor an' git roun' by de ole fort till I see de ship make sail.

Den I'se pull, an' pull, an' pull, like de debbel, to come up wid you, an' I tinks I nebber reach de bessel, wen, jus' as I'se git 'longside an' cotch you up, de ship gib one big lurch an' squash in de boat, wen I'se trown in water an' you fish um out; dere, massa, dat's de trute, s'help me!" "Lucky for you you didn't go squash, too," observed the captain grimly.
"But, was there no one else with you ?" "No, massa, only me," replied Jake.
"Thank God for that!" said Captain Miles fervently.

"I was afraid I had run down one of those fishing sloops from Cariacou, and that all hands were drowned but you.

Whose boat was it ?" "Dunno, massa, I'se tell you," answered Jake with great nonchalance, apparently giving but little thought to the little craft whose broken timbers were now floating away, far astern of us.
"Well, you're a cool hand anyway!" exclaimed Mr Marline the first mate drily, whereat Moggridge and the rest of the crew burst into a general shout of merriment.

In this even the captain himself could not help joining, although he still tried to preserve a grave demeanour before Jake, as if annoyed at his coming on board.
Jake, however, was much hurt at being laughed at; and he went on now to justify his conduct with such native dignity that those who had been making fun of him before seemed almost ashamed of their ill-judged ridicule.
"I'se know Mass' Tom ebber since he was lilly pickaninny, an' I lub him," he said, speaking with a feeling and earnestness which no one would have thought of his possessing, and uttering the words in a thick choked voice.