was good at.

And that was all the talk we had upon the matter, for I was put
out, and Uma took the thing so much as a matter of course that I
was fairly ashamed.

All day, off and on, now fewer and now more, the fools sat about
the west end of my house and across the river, waiting for the
show, whatever that was - fire to come down from heaven, I suppose,
and consume me, bones and baggage. But by evening, like real
islanders, they had wearied of the business, and got away, and had
a dance instead in the big house of the village, where I heard them
singing and clapping hands till, maybe, ten at night, and the next
day it seemed they had forgotten I existed. If fire had come down
from heaven or the earth opened and swallowed me, there would have
been nobody to see the sport or take the lesson, or whatever you
like to call it. But I was to find they hadn't forgot either, and
kept an eye lifting for phenomena over my way.

I was hard at it both these days getting my trade in order and
taking stock of what Vigours had left. This was a job that made me
pretty sick, and kept me from thinking on much else. Ben had taken
stock the trip before - I knew I could trust Ben - but it was plain
somebody had been making free in the meantime. I found I was out
by what might easily cover six months' salary and profit, and I
could have kicked myself all round the village to have been such a
blamed ass, sitting boozing with that Case instead of attending to
my own affairs and taking stock.

However, there's no use crying over spilt milk. It was done now,