CHAPTER XI.

PAUL JONES IN A REVERIE.


"'God helps them that help themselves.' That's a clincher. That's been
my experience. But I never saw it in words before. What pamphlet is
this? 'Poor Richard,' hey!"

Upon entering Israel's room, Captain Paul, stepping towards the table
and spying the open pamphlet there, had taken it up, his eye being
immediately attracted to the passage previously marked by our
adventurer.

"A rare old gentleman is 'Poor Richard,'" said Israel in response to
Paul's observations.

"So he seems, so he seems," answered Paul, his eye still running over
the pamphlet again; "why, 'Poor Richard' reads very much as Doctor
Franklin speaks."

"He wrote it," said Israel.

"Aye? Good. So it is, so it is; it's the wise man all over. I must get
me a copy of this and wear it around my neck for a charm. And now about
our quarters for the night. I am not going to deprive you of your bed,
my man. Do you go to bed and I will doze in the chair here. It's good
dozing in the crosstrees."