8 THE BOY CAPTAIN.

you any good; but I don’t count on giving you the
whole plug.”

The man filled his pipe, after going through the
formality of returning thanks, cut off a generous supply
for the future, and then settled himself down under the
lee of the house for a comfortable smoke.

The watch to which Ben belonged was off duty at the
time; therefore there was nothing to prevent him from
following the fellow’s example, and in half an hour the
two were on terms almost approaching intimacy.

Quite naturally the young sailor had asked for par-
ticulars of the shipwreck, and, equally as naturally, the
man had given his version of the affair, allowing himself
so much latitude in the way of romance as to make the
story entirely different from those which had been
previously told.

Ben listened in silence until the sailor had spun his
yarn, and was forced to conclude because his imagination
refused to serve him longer, when he asked, assuming an
expression of the utmost faith and perfect innocence:

«What vessel were you on?”

“The Starlight, of course. Haven't I jest been
tellin’ of you?”

“What craft did the other men belong to?”

«We were shipmates. Didn’t you hear what I said?”

«How many times was the Starlight wrecked ?”’

“Look here, lad, how many times do you think a
vessel can be wrecked when she goes to the bottom?”

“T thought once was enough for ’most any craft; but