Bluster and big talk may scare some folks, but to me they're like Aunt Hepsy Parker's false teeth, the further off you be from 'em the more real they look.

So the next mornin' I was up bright and early and on my way over to the Lathrop landin'.
"The launch was there, made fast alongside the little wharf.

Nice, slick-lookin' craft she was, too, all varnish and gilt gorgeousness.

I'd liked her better if she'd carried a sail, for it's my experience that canvas is a handy thing to have aboard in case of need; but she looked seaworthy enough and built for speed.
"While I was standin' on the pier lookin' down at her I heard footsteps and brisk remarks from behind the bushes on the bank, and here comes Williams, puffin' and blowin', followed by a sulky-lookin' hired man totin' a deckload of sweaters and ileskins, with a lunch basket on top.
Williams himself wan't carryin' anything but his temper, but he hadn't forgot none of that.
"'Hello, Berry,' says he to me.

'You are on time, ain't you.