Beadle's Dime Novels No. 131 — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

JOE'S BEST WORK, 67 “Tm afraid I shall.prove to be a very great fool indeed, sir. But I am anxious to take lessons; and, from what I’ve heard, I might go*far and near without finding another such teacher as Hardy Joe.” — This little breeze of flattery rippled Joe’s face with a sar- castic smile, + ; “They do say I was born with a fish-hook in my hand, I can tell you, thar ain’t been many days, for the last sixty year, that I hain’t been or that water. I made a few voyages, in my younger days, when I was master of a little schooner, the Jolly Jack, arter which I’ve named my place, sir. But she went down in a storm, and I lost her; so I took to land-life again, if you might call it so, which is half-and-half, like a tumbler o’ grog. I’ve been out with my surf-boat to thirty wracks—I’ve saved a good many lives, picked up a let o’ floatin’ property, helped unload a sight o’ beached ships—but of all the work I ever did, I never done nothin’ that paid me so well as when I brought that ’ere baby to land, out of the awfullest tempest that ever blew on this coast, sir, a little over sixteen year ago.” The wrecker indicated Tangee with a wave of his hand, who looked up with a smile, from the sheet of music with which she had appeared to be engrossed. “Then she is an adopted daughter, sir ?” “Aye!I reckon. You don’t s’pose they grew that kind on the Jersey shore? I tell her she’s an Injun. That brown skin and them black eyes don’t belong to us.” “Tt would be hard to tell where they came from,” answer- ed the young gentleman, withdrawing his eyes lest she should consider him rade in his regards, “I’ve been in Spain and Italy, but I never saw just such features and complexion. I guess the ship which bore her must have sailed from some port of Paradise.” “ Father, didn’t you promise me you would not talk of me, in my presence ?” " “ Ha! P’'ve got to conceal my admiration from this spirited beauty. She is not ignorant of the proprieties, as I might know,” thought the stranger, adding aloud, “I beg your par- don, mademoiselle, but I truly thought that, last evening, when I chanced to see you, so unexpectedly, when 1 was only looking comichooks.conmn