A Queer Race: The Story of a Strange People — page 156: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A QUEER RACE. 153 ‘‘ Never mind me. I have been too anxiousand excited to think about eating; but now I am beginning to feel terribly peckish oa “| What?” ‘** Peckish ’ 1s amodern colloquialism. It means hun- gry. ‘I'he one thing needful just now is grub.” ‘* Grub?” ‘“I beg your pardon; I mean food. I think there are a few tins of preserved meat still on board. I must look them up at once.” By this time we had reached the saloon. Marian and Buttercup were alive, but very haggard and limp, and only just recovering from the worst agoniés of seasick- ness. ‘They were so ill, in fact, that my announcement — that we were aground and out of danger did not seem to interest them in the least; all they wanted was to be quiet. As for eating! the very idea was enough to So, in the interest of all parties, I proposed that Marian should lie down in one of the berths and let Mab have her clothes while Mab’s were drying in tne sun, for the clouds were now dispersing, and the weather taking up. ‘“*But what will you do?” said the queen. ‘*‘ You are quite as wet as I am.” “‘Oh, I shall easily find a rig-out. I can don some sailor’s togs while mine dry.” “«* Rig-out,’ ‘togs!’” repeated Mab, with a puzzled look. ‘* You speak in riddles, Mr. Erle. I don’t under- stand.” “Of course you don’t. I am always forgetting that you are not familiar with modern colloquial English. I mean clothes, garments.” | ‘‘Good. ‘ Rig-out’ is expressive, I think. I will go and rig myself out in Marian’s togs. You will go and rig yourself out in some other body’s togs; and if after that you will kindly find some grub I shall be extremely obliged, for I feel awfully peckish. Is that the correct thing?” ‘You could not express yourself more correcily, Queen Mab, if you had been ‘finished’ in a London boarding-school,” I answered, with a bow. : She responded to the compliment with a gratified smile, and went away with Marien, while I betook my- self to another part of the ship. (E(@) mm G ool) <= (ee)