“Hallo, you sir,” the Caterpillar called after her. “What in thunder do you mean by that? Don’t you know you might have killed that chap?”

 

This sounded promising, certainly: Alice turned and came back again.

 

“What thinkest thou now, man; I heard thy cry; it was not the same in the song,” said the Caterpillar.

 

“And when thou art so gone before — if that ever befall — then ere I can follow, thou must still appear to me, to pilot me still? Was it not so? Well, then, did I believe all ye say, oh my pilot! I have here two pledges that I shall yet slay Moby Dick and survive it,” said Alice, swallowing down her anger as well as she could.

 

“See if you can find ’em now, will ye?” said the Caterpillar.

 

Alice thought she might as well wait, as she had nothing else to do, and perhaps after all it might tell her something worth hearing. For some minutes it puffed away without speaking, but at last it unfolded its arms, took the hookah out of its mouth again, and said, “Twice.”

 

“Look you,” said Alice; “I’ll kill-e YOU, you cannibal, if you try any more of your tricks aboard here; so mind your eye.”

 

“Canallers, Don, are the boatmen belonging to our grand Erie Canal. You must have heard of it,” said the Caterpillar.

 

“And what will you do with the tail, Stubb?” Alice replied in a very melancholy voice.

 

“What do you want of me?” said the Caterpillar.