e before I could open my mouth he had gone round on
another tack and was addressing himself affably to Mr Powell who
swinging his leg never took his eyes off me.

"`I'll take your young friend willingly, Mr Powell. If you let him
sign on as second mate at once I'll take the Articles away with me now.'

"It suddenly dawned upon me that the innocent skipper of the _Ferndale_
had taken it for granted that I was a relative of the Shipping Master!
I was quite astonished at this discovery, though indeed the mistake was
natural enough under the circumstances. What I ought to have admired
was the reticence with which this misunderstanding had been established
and acted upon. But I was too stupid then to admire anything. All my
anxiety was that this should be cleared up. I was ass enough to wonder
exceedingly at Mr Powell failing to notice the misapprehension. I saw
a slight twitch come and go on his face; but instead of setting right
that mistake the Shipping Master swung round on his stool and addressed
me as `Charles.' He did. And I detected him taking a hasty squint at
my certificate just before, because clearly till he did so he was not
sure of my christian name. `Now then come round in front of the desk,
Charles,' says he in a loud voice.

"Charles! At first, I declare to you, it didn't seem possible that he
was addressing himself to me. I even looked round for that Charles but
there was nobody behind me except the thin-necked chap still hard at his
writing, and the other three Shipping Masters who were changing their
coats and reaching for their hats, making ready to go home. It was the
industrious thin-necked man who without laying down his pen lifted with
his left hand a flap near his desk and said kindly:--

"`Pass this way.'

"I walked through in a trance, faced Mr Powell, from whom I learned
that we were bound to Port Elizabeth first, and signed my name on the
Articles of the ship _Ferndale_ as second mate--the voyage not to exceed
two years.

"`You won't fail to join--eh?' says the captain anxiously. `It would
cause no end of trouble and expense if you did. You've got a good six
hours to get your gear together, and then you'll have time to snatch a
sleep on board before the crew joins in the morning.'

"It was easy enough for him to talk of getting ready in six hours for a
voyage that was not to exceed two years. He hadn't to do that trick
himself, and with his sea-chest locked up in an outhous