What am I going to do,
madam? What am I going to do? I'm well nigh distracted.'
"But his wife was too taken up with the gin bottle to pay much heed to
his pitiful words. She just kept flirting around in the water and
singing snatches of bad sailor songs she'd picked up around the docks.
"'Take her home,' said my wife, 'take her home, you weakling, by
force.'
"'But I can't when she's in this condition. I got a child in my arms.'
"'Give me the baby,' said my wife, with sudden determination. 'I'll
take care of it until to-morrow night when you can come back here and
get it.'
"He handed the flopping little thing up to my wife and turned to the
mermaid.
"'Lil,' he says to her, holding out his arms to her, 'Lil, will you
come home?'
"Lil swims up to him then and takes him by the arm and looks at him
for a long time.
"'Kiss me, Archie,' she says suddenly, 'I don't mind if I do,' and
flipping a couple of pounds of water upon the both of us on the pier,
she pulls him under the water laughing and that's the last I saw of
either of them. Now I ain't asaying as I have ever seen a mermaid mind
you," continued the chief, "but what I do say is that if any man has
ever seen one I'm the man.
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