A Boy's Adventures in the West Indies (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. FROM BERMUDAS TO BAHAMAS. HE .'Nehemiah" was repaired at last, the last claim of the rapacious wreckers was satisfied, and we sailed on our voyage. Previous to leaving we made a discovery, whether a beneficial one or not yet remains to be seen. The Antiquarian, prowling about in search of relics, ran across a specimen that was by no means an antique, neither was he so very " fresh " or recent. To be brief, he discovered a Doctor, or rather the Doctor discovered him. A wandering dentist, who had somehow drifted to these islands, introduced himself to us, and desired to go along. His desire was expressed to the captain, who agreed to take him at a fair compensation, and so he brought his "dunnage" aboard. We had scarcely got well under way before the doctor developed his wonderful aptitude for adapting himself to circumstances. He was acquainted with everybody on board at the end of the second day, and before a week had passed he had nearly everybody in his debt for services rendered. He had inveigled the captain and the mate into having all their teeth extracted, and then furnished them with " brand-new store teeth," so that they took the greatest delight in showing them to everybody, and were on the broad grin all the time. From being surly and close-mouthed, they suddenly became smiling and talkative, for whichgreat improvement the Doctor took to himself due credit, claiming that it would be at least a thousand dollars in their pockets, within ten years. But they did not look very smiling when the doctor presented his bill; and the captain swore that he had taken all the wreckers had left him. That the Doctor was a "character" ? which term usually signifies a person without any character at all ? we all had to admit. Perhaps it was as well he had come ...