{"id":"01KG8AKTS6JMR88GWP015699YY","cid":"bafkreiajhz6x2vf5x57pvsghlqkln76q3dhbq3lfv3mjswrojy2pnerqke","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":8235,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:15.153Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 1","source_file":"01KG89J1H7Y803CZ7X80F0QFHZ","start_line":8163,"text":"CHAPTER LIX.\r\nTHE MURPHIES\r\n\r\n\r\nDozing in our canoe the next morning about daybreak, we were awakened\r\nby Zeke’s hailing us loudly from the beach.\r\n\r\nUpon paddling up, he told us that a canoe had arrived overnight, from\r\nPapeetee, with an order from a ship lying there for a supply of his\r\npotatoes; and as they must be on board the vessel by noon, he wanted us\r\nto assist in bringing them down to his sail-boat.\r\n\r\nMy long comrade was one of those who, from always thrusting forth the\r\nwrong foot foremost when they rise, or committing some other\r\nindiscretion of the limbs, are more or less crabbed or sullen before\r\nbreakfast. It was in vain, therefore, that the Yankee deplored the\r\nurgency of the case which obliged him to call us up thus early:—the\r\ndoctor only looked the more glum, and said nothing in reply.\r\n\r\nAt last, by way of getting up a little enthusiasm for the occasion, the\r\nYankee exclaimed quite spiritedly, “What d’ye say, then, b’ys, shall we\r\nget at it?”\r\n\r\n“Yes, in the devil’s name!” replied the doctor, like a snapping turtle;\r\nand we moved on to the house. Notwithstanding his ungracious answer, he\r\nprobably thought that, after the gastronomic performance of the day\r\nprevious, it would hardly do to hang back. At the house, we found\r\nShorty ready with the hoes; and we at once repaired to the farther side\r\nof the inclosure, where the potatoes had yet to be taken out of the\r\nground.\r\n\r\nThe rich, tawny soil seemed specially adapted to the crop; the great\r\nyellow murphies rolling out of the hills like eggs from a nest.\r\n\r\nMy comrade really surprised me by the zeal with which he applied\r\nhimself to his hoe. For my own part, exhilarated by the cool breath of\r\nthe morning, I worked away like a good fellow. As for Zeke and the\r\nCockney, they seemed mightily pleased at this evidence of our\r\nwillingness to exert ourselves.\r\n\r\nIt was not long ere all the potatoes were turned out; and then came the\r\nworst of it: they were to be lugged down to the beach, a distance of at\r\nleast a quarter of a mile. And there being no such thing as a barrow,\r\nor cart, on the island, there was nothing for it but spinal-marrows and\r\nbroad shoulders. Well knowing that this part of the business would be\r\nanything but agreeable, Zeke did his best to put as encouraging a face\r\nupon it as possible; and giving us no time to indulge in desponding\r\nthoughts, gleefully directed our attention to a pile of rude\r\nbaskets—made of stout stalks—which had been provided for the occasion.\r\nSo, without more ado, we helped ourselves from the heap: and soon we\r\nwere all four staggering along under our loads.\r\n\r\nThe first trip down, we arrived at the beach together: Zeke’s\r\nenthusiastic cries proving irresistible. A trip or two more, however,\r\nand my shoulders began to grate in their sockets; while the doctor’s\r\ntall figure acquired an obvious stoop. Presently, we both threw down\r\nour baskets, protesting we could stand it no longer. But our employers,\r\nbent, as it were, upon getting the work out of us by a silent appeal to\r\nour moral sense, toiled away without pretending to notice us. It was as\r\nmuch as to say, “There, men, we’ve been boarding and lodging ye for the\r\nlast three days; and yesterday ye did nothing earthly but eat; so stand\r\nby now, and look at us working, if ye dare.” Thus driven to it, then,\r\nwe resumed our employment. Yet, in spite of all we could do, we lagged\r\nbehind Zeke and Shorty, who, breathing hard, and perspiring at every\r\npore, toiled away without pause or cessation. I almost wickedly wished\r\nthat they would load themselves down with one potato too many.\r\n\r\nGasping as I was with my own hamper, I could not, for the life of me,\r\nhelp laughing at Long Ghost. There he went:—his long neck thrust\r\nforward, his arms twisted behind him to form a shelf for his basket to\r\nrest on; and his stilts of legs every once in a while giving way under\r\nhim, as if his knee-joints slipped either way.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 1"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJM0XRA1R2C73ZGK5G37S","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1H7Y803CZ7X80F0QFHZ","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AKTS8YHTWR21T5VQB29WF","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:17.190Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:30.926Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}