They 'd been so scared to tell him and he knew it all the time . Strange how nature looks out for us , ai n't it , and lets us know what we should know when the time comes ? Did I never tell you the yarn about Henry getting the fish hook in his nose , Mistress Blythe ? '' `` No . '' `` Well , him and me had a laugh over it today . It happened nigh unto thirty years ago . Him and me and several more was out mackerel fishing one day . It was a great day -- never saw such a school of mackerel in the gulf -- and in the general excitement Henry got quite wild and contrived to stick a fish hook clean through one side of his nose . Well , there he was ; there was barb on one end and a big piece of lead on the other , so it could n't be pulled out . We wanted to take him ashore at once , but Henry was game ; he said he 'd be jiggered if he 'd leave a school like that for anything short of lockjaw ; then he kept fishing away , hauling in hand over fist and groaning between times . Fin ` lly the school passed and we come in with a load ; I got a file and begun to try to file through that hook . I tried to be as easy as I could , but you should have heard Henry -- no , you should n't either . It was well no ladies were around . Henry was n't a swearing man , but he 'd heard some few matters of that sort along shore in his time , and he fished 'em all out of his recollection and hurled 'em at me . Fin ` lly he declared he could n't stand it and I had no bowels of compassion . So we hitched up and I drove him to a doctor in Charlottetown , thirty-five miles -- there were n't none nearer in them days -- with that blessed hook still hanging from his nose . When we got there old Dr. Crabb jest took a file and filed that hook jest the same as I 'd tried to do , only he were n't a mite particular about doing it easy ! '' Captain Jim 's visit to his old friend had revived many recollections and he was now in the full tide of reminiscences . `` Henry was asking me today if I remembered the time old Father Chiniquy blessed Alexander MacAllister 's boat . Another odd yarn -- and true as gospel .
I was XXXXX the boat myself .
So about for in like of on out over to