es, but
Emmeline remained at the door. The charm of the old brig appealed to
her almost as much as to Dick, but she had a feeling about it quite
unknown to him. A ship where no one was had about it suggestions of
"other things."

She was afraid to enter the gloomy deckhouse, and afraid to remain
alone outside; she compromised matters by sitting down on the deck.
Then she placed the small bundle beside her, and hurriedly took the
rag-doll from her pocket, into which it was stuffed head down, pulled
its calico skirt from over its head, propped it up against the coaming
of the door, and told it not to be afraid.

There was not much to be found in the deck-house, but aft of it were
two small cabins like rabbit hutches, once inhabited by the skipper and
his mate. Here there were great findings in the way of rubbish. Old
clothes, old boots, an old top-hat of that extraordinary pattern you
may see in the streets of Pernambuco, immensely tall, and narrowing
towards the brim. A telescope without a lens, a volume of Hoyt, a
nautical almanac, a great bolt of striped flannel shirting, a box of
fish hooks. And in one corner--glorious find!--a coil of what seemed to
be ten yards or so of black rope.

"Baccy, begorra!" shouted Pat, seizing upon his treasure. It was
pigtail. You may see coils of it in the tobacconists' windows of
seaport towns. A pipe full of it would make a hippopotamus vomit, yet
old sailors chew it and smoke it and revel in it.

"We'll bring all the lot of the things out on deck, and see what's
worth keepin' an' what's worth leavin'," said Mr Button, taking an
immense armful of the old truck; whilst Dick, carrying the top-hat,
upon which he had instantly seized as his own special booty, led the
way.

"Em," shouted Dick, as he emerged from the doorway, "see what I've got!"

He popped the awful-looking structure over his head. It went right down
to his shoulders.

Emmeline gave a shriek.

"It smells funny," said Dick, taking it off and applying his nose to
the inside of it--"smells like an old hair brush. Here, you try it on."

Emmeline scrambled away as far as she could, till she reached the
starboard bulwarks, where she sat in the scupper, breathless and
speechless and wide-eyed. She was always dumb when frightened (unless
it were a nightmare or a very sudden shock), and this hat suddenly seen
half covering Dick frightened her out of her wits. Besides, it was a
black thing, and she hated black things--bl