ll," said the contractor: "I am sorry that I have no better job to
give you today, but by to-morrow I will have something better."

Paul followed the gang to the dry docks where a large steamer had been
hauled up. On exhibiting his piece of paper to the foreman, he received
a three cornered scraper, a piece of sharp steel with a handle about
eighteen inches long. He was told off to a certain plank suspended
by ropes down the side of the vessel in company with two old dock rats
who eyed him rather sullenly as though he was an intruder. Paul
quickly slipped down the rope and seated himself on the plank, while the
two professors climbed leisurely down and took a seat on either
end, he occupying the middle. The side of the ship was thickly studded
with barnacles and other shell fish. She had just returned from a long
voyage to the tropics and was very foul. The air was chilly and raw down
on the dark, damp stone dock. Paul was anxious to warm himself, so
made a furious onslaught on the barnacles and soon had them flying in
every direction. He stopped for breath and found his companions,
instead of following his example, were gazing at him with looks of
disgust and astonishment. One of them exclaimed:

"Regard him, look at him!"

While the other, with feigned pity, tapped his forehead with the tips of
his fingers, as much as to say, "He is crazy, my brother." One of them
then placed his hand on Paul's arm and asked him how long he had been
engaged in scraping ship's bottoms.

"This is my first day," answered Paul, thinking he might have done
something wrong.

"I thought so," responded his questioner. "A few more mad men like you
would ruin our work in the dock. Why, at the way you are going the
ship's bottom would be clean before night fall. This is the way to do
it," and he put his scraper against the side of the vessel and slowly
and laboriously removed a single barnacle. Then he laid the scraper on
the plank beside him and drew out his pipe which he leisurely filled
with tobacco and lighted. After taking a few whiffs he asked Paul where
he was from and what caused him to seek work there. Paul fully explained
his position and the cause that compelled him to work. After this, his
two companions seemed to thaw out and entertained him with words of
advice, instructing him in many methods of killing time when the foreman
was not around. At noon all hands were called up out of the docks an