--his
things are so different and taste so good. I never thought I liked rice
before, but his was delicious."

[Illustration: And he brandished it fiercely.]

"Wing Fan knows all about the family history of rice. He talks to each
grain separately," laughed the Captain.

The boys didn't praise Wing's efforts in words, but their appetites kept
Wing on the broad grin. He could not resist looking proudly at his
employer when Sherm accepted his third saucer of cream.

The Captain invited them into the library to pick out Sherm's elephant.
They were all so interested in the curios and asked so many questions
they came near forgetting the boat ride. Ernest picked out a ship's
cutlass the first thing. The Captain took it down for him to examine and
he brandished it fiercely.

Captain Clarke smiled. "I fear you wouldn't do much execution if you
handled it that way, Ernest. A cutlass has tricks of its own. Here, this
is the way." He showed the boy how to get the proper hold and how to
swing it.

Ernest struck an attitude. "Behold your sailor brother as he skims the
briny deep, Chicken Little."

"Pooh, naval officers don't carry cutlasses, do they, Captain Clarke?"

"No, I believe the sword used now is straight. But this cutlass has a
history I think might interest you."

"Tell us."

"If you like. It won't take long. Boys, will you draw up chairs for the
girls?" Captain Clarke reached out his hand for a big easy chair nearby
at the same moment that Sherm laid his hand upon it to draw it nearer
for their host himself. The two hands rested in almost the same position
on the opposite arms of the chair. They were singularly alike. Katy, the
observing, noticed this instantly.

Captain Clarke studied Sherm's hand for a minute, then his gaze shifted
to his own.

"I doubt if my hand was ever as good looking as Sherm's," he said
easily. "You have a hand that denotes unusual strength and will power,
according to 'palmology.' You will have to live up to it."

But Katy was persistent. "It's almost exactly like yours, Captain
Clarke, only yours isn't so smooth and has more lines. Don't you see
it's a square hand with unusually long fingers. The thumbs are shaped
just the same, too."

"You should be an artist, Katy, you are such a close observer," replied
the Captain.

They settled down comfortably for the story. Chicken Little noticed
Sherm regarding his own hand rather critically and glancing from it to
the Captain's, who