aid nothing for some moments.
After his pipe was filled, he looked out at the ocean, glittering in the
morning sun, and then turned to glance solemnly at the two boys.

"Mystery o' the sea, lads--wave after wave! Fish down below, lads, and
us up above. Fish tell no tales, fish tell no tales! Poor Liverpool
Peters, he's--"

"Look here, Jerry," exclaimed Mart, breaking in abruptly on the old
man's talk and forcing the bleary blue eyes to meet his. "I'd like to
know just how much stock to take in your talk. How long is it since you
and the rest of 'em were shipmates together aboard the _Coralie_, eh?"

Mart fully expected that Jerry would break out into vehement denial, and
might even be surprised into making some admission. Bob, also, while no
little astonished at his chum's unexpected attack, nodded his support
and craned forward as he watched the quartermaster.

But to their mutual disconcertion, old Jerry's face did not change, save
for a slight widening of his blue eyes as they met the hard gray ones of
Mart. When he replied to the question, it was with a little chuckle as
of inward amusement.

"Well, well! So you lads have heard about the old _Coralie_, hey? There
ain't many in these seas as haven't, 'cause why, men are bound to talk.
Only fish tell no tales, lads. Aye, the old _Coralie_ was a sweet little
schooner, she was! But that was all years ago--and now she's lyin'
ninety fathom deep, lads, off the South Lyconia reef. Not very far from
here, neither, where she went down."

Mart sent a blank gaze at his chum, as Jerry replaced his pipe in his
mouth and gazed calmly out at the ocean. This cool reception of his bomb
was dismaying to say the least; but Bob came promptly to the rescue, and
more successfully.

"Why do they call you Shark Smith, Jerry?" he asked carelessly.

This time the boys scored visibly. The quartermaster's position did not
change, but his bleared eyes suddenly flashed out quick and keen and
bright, while his wrinkled old face lost its gently benignant expression
as his firm mouth snapped shut on his pipe. This was not the first time
the boys had seen that swift alteration of his features; and now it
passed as quickly as it had passed before. Jerry turned slowly and
looked at them, a slow smile crinkling up his eyes.

"Why, lads, ye main surprised me, ye did that! How come you to learn
that old Jerry was called Shark Smith, now?"

"Oh, we heard about it," laughed Mart carelessly. "Wha