I started past him again, but he got in front o’ me.
“You can get off, o’ course,” he says; “but you can’t get back on. That’s the rules.”
“What sense is they in that?” I ast him.
“If I let people off, and on again, my count would get mixed up,” he says.
“Who are you?” says I.
“I’m the government checker,” he says.
“Chess?” says I. “And you count all the people that gets on?”
“That’s me,” he says.
“How many’s on now?” I ast him.
“Eight hundred-odd,” he says.
“I ast you for the number, not the description,” I says. “How many’s the limit?” I ast him.
“Thirteen hundred,” he says.
“And would the boat