the sink. Soap in the becket over top of it.
Roller towel on the closet door. Ain't you had water enough for a
spell?"

"Not fresh water, thank you. I'm caked with salt from head to foot."

"Does make a feller feel like a split herrin', if he ain't used to it.
Think you can eat anything?"

"Can I?" The response was enthusiastic. "You watch me! My last meal was
yesterday noon."

"Yesterday NOON! Didn't you eat no supper?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Well, I--well, to be frank, because I hadn't the price. It took my last
cent to pay my fare on that blessed steamer."

"Great land of love! What time was it when you fell overboard?"

"Oh, I don't know. Two o'clock, perhaps."

"Two o'clock! What was you doin' up at two o'clock? Why wasn't you in
your stateroom asleep?"

"I hadn't any stateroom. Staterooms cost money."

"My soul! And you swum three hours on an empty stomach?"

"Not altogether. Part of it on my back. But, if you'll excuse
familiarity on short acquaintance, those things you're cooking smell
good to me."

"Them's clam fritters, and, if YOU'LL excuse my sayin' so that
shouldn't, they ARE good. Set down and fill up."

The visitor ate nine of the fritters, a slice of dried-apple pie, and
drank two cups of coffee. Seth, between intervals of frying and eating,
watched him with tremendous curiosity and as much patience as he could
muster. When the pie was finished he asked the first of the questions
with which he had been bursting all the forenoon.

"Tell me," he said, "how'd you come to fall overboard?"

"I'm not very certain just how it happened. I remember leaning over the
rail and watching the waves. Then I was very dizzy all at once. The next
thing I knew I was in the water."

"Dizzy, hey? Seasick, may be."

"I guess not. I'm a pretty good sailor. I'm inclined to think the cause
was that empty stomach you mentioned."

"Um-hm. You didn't have no supper. Still, you ate the noon afore."

"Not much. Only a sandwich."

"A sandwich! What did you have for breakfast?"

"Well, the fact is, I overslept and decided to omit the breakfast."

"Gosh! no wonder you got dizzy. If I went without meals for a whole
day I cal'late I'd be worse than dizzy. What did you do when you found
yourself in the water?"

"Yelled at first, but no one heard me. Then I saw some lights off in
this direction and started to swim for them. I made the shore finally,
but I was so used up that I don't remember anything after the