l now,--"it vas ze Madonna of ze golt. Ze Madonna of
ze golt!"

We all stared at him, filled with wonder at his apparent recognition of
the figure. The skipper, however, at once interrogated him on the
point.

"Jehosophat, mister!" cried Captain Snaggs, with mixed curiosity and
impatience--"what d'ye mean? Hev ye ever seed this hyar figger afore?"

"Yase," said the Dane, in his deep voice; "yase, I vas zee him one long
time befores I vas know him ver' well!"

"Thunder, ye don't mean it! What, this durned identical image?"

"Yase, mitout doubt. I vas know dat zame idenzigal vigure," replied the
other imperturbably, his passing fit of excitement having cooled,
leaving him as calm and impassive as usual. "It vas ze Madonna of ze
golt dat we vas loose overboart from ze schgooners, one, doo, dree year
ago."

The skipper looked at him, without speaking further for a second or
more, Jan Steenbock confronting him as steadfastly and placidly as a
periwinkle might have been under the circumstances; while all of us
around gazed at them both, open-mouthed with expectancy.

"What d'ye mean?" presently said Captain Snaggs, breaking the silence;
"what schooner air ye talkin' on?"

"Ze schgooners dat I vas zail in vrom Guayaquil dat time as I tell yous,
vor to gatoh ze orchillas veeds."

"But, mister, say, what hez thet stuff, which in coorse I knows on, to
do with this durned old image hyar?" again interrogated the skipper, in
an incredulous tone. "I guess ye air gettin' a bit kinder mixed up, an'
yer yarn don't hitch on an' run smooth like!"

"Joost zo," returned the imperturbable second-mate, in no way disturbed
by this impeachment of his veracity. "You joost vait; I vas hab
zometing vor to zay. Joost vait and I vas tell yous."

"Carry on then," said Captain Snaggs impatiently. "By thunder! ye air
ez long gettin' under way, I guess, ez a Cape Cod pilot. Fire away, an'
be durned to ye, an' tell us the hull bilin', mister!"

Jan Steenbock, however, would not allow himself to be hurried in this
fashion. Quite unmoved by the skipper's impatience, he went on in his
slow, deliberate way, all of us listening with the keenest attention and
steadying ourselves for a good yarn.

"It vas dree year ago dat I vas meet mit Cap'en Shackzon, of ze
schgooners _Mariposa_, at Guayaquil," he began sententiously, clearing
his throat, and seeming to speak in deeper and deeper tones as he
proceeded with his narrative. "He vas