"We wouldn't mind takin' a bottle down on board, sir," said Corlett, who once more proved his intellectual capacity.
"And mind you keep your mouths shut," said Lant.
"Wild 'orses shan't drag a word out of us, sir," said Eales, "for when my mate's drunk 'e's sulky, and I'm 'appy but speechless."
And down they went on board the Enchantress with their bottle, while Lant held a council of war with his chief runner.
•••••••
Portland is a hard place; there is no harder place in the world. San Francisco, for all its reputation, which it owes so greatly to the gold times, is a sweet and easy health resort compared with the trading capital of Oregon. Oregonians from all parts of the State say it is a selfish city, with no more sense of State patriotism than an Italian city of the fifteenth century had of national patriotism. But in these days Portland is beginning to get a trifle nervous about its reputation. It is beginning to get written about, and the truth is told occasionally as to what goes on there. This is why a sudden and
