not doing anything to help.
You couldn't find the boy's uncle any more than the eagles could--you
couldn't do as well."

"Couldn't I?" said the dog. "That's all you know, you stupid piece of
warm bacon! I haven't begun to try yet, have I? You wait and see!"

Then Jip went to the Doctor and said,

"Ask the boy if he has anything in his pockets that belonged to his
uncle, will you, please?"

So the Doctor asked him. And the boy showed them a gold ring which he
wore on a piece of string around his neck because it was too big for
his finger. He said his uncle gave it to him when they saw the pirates
coming.

Jip smelt the ring and said,

"That's no good. Ask him if he has anything else that belonged to his
uncle."

Then the boy took from his pocket a great, big red handkerchief and
said, "This was my uncle's too."

As soon as the boy pulled it out, Jip shouted,

"SNUFF, by Jingo!--Black Rappee snuff. Don't you smell it? His uncle
took snuff-- Ask him, Doctor."

The Doctor questioned the boy again; and he said, "Yes. My uncle took
a lot of snuff."

"Fine!" said Jip. "The man's as good as found. 'Twill be as easy as
stealing milk from a kitten. Tell the boy I'll find his uncle for him
in less than a week. Let us go upstairs and see which way the wind is
blowing."

"But it is dark now," said the Doctor. "You can't find him in the
dark!"

"I don't need any light to look for a man who smells of Black Rappee
snuff," said Jip as he climbed the stairs. "If the man had a hard
smell, like string, now--or hot water, it would be different. But
SNUFF!--Tut, tut!"

"Does hot water have a smell?" asked the Doctor.

"Certainly it has," said Jip. "Hot water smells quite different from
cold water. It is warm water--or ice--that has the really difficult
smell. Why, I once followed a man for ten miles on a dark night by the
smell of the hot water he had used to shave with--for the poor fellow
had no soap.... Now then, let us see which way the wind is blowing.
Wind is very important in long-distance smelling. It mustn't be too
fierce a wind--and of course it must blow the right way. A nice,
steady, damp breeze is the best of all.... Ha!--This wind is from the
North."

Then Jip went up to the front of the ship and smelt the wind; and he
started muttering to himself,

"Tar; Spanish onions; kerosene oil; wet raincoats; crushed
laurel-leaves; rubber burning; lace-curtains being washed--No, my
mistak