of the food appealed strongly
to their appetites, and for the moment they forgot everything except
that they were very hungry and that there were good things to eat at
hand. The captain took his place smilingly at the head of the table, and
the Midget whispered to Harry:

"He's not such a bad sort, after all. I wonder what kind of a pirate he
is, anyway."

"Sit down, boys, and buckle to. Hard tack does not stay long by you, but
I told you last night I only eat what I give my men so that I could
offer you nothing better then. I hope you will enjoy your breakfast. I
have a very good cook. Used to sub at the Waldorf but got into a little
trouble on shore and is trying the sea. Stuck his mate under the rib
with a carving knife and is taking a voyage with me for the benefit of
his health."

"Aren't you afraid he might do the same to you some time if he lost his
temper?" asked Mason, looking at the captain with his eyes as big as
saucers. He did not like the idea of sailing with a desperado of that
sort.

"Oh, no," answered the big man, carelessly; "I should stick first, you
know, and then it was in self defense that the blow was struck. Let me
give you some of this omelet. You will find it as good as any you could
get at home."

The boys looked at the strange man in wonder. They could not make out
his character. But they ate their breakfast with a relish just the same,
and the captain entertained them with tales of the sea that made them
alternately laugh at his drollery or wonder at his daring. Not that he
ever brought himself into the stories, but the boys knew that he was the
hero of the adventures which he related, because they felt that he would
have acted in just the way his heroes did. There was a strange air about
the man that attracted them to him. They felt that he would be a firm
friend and an unrelenting enemy. They liked to be with him, liked to
hear him talk, liked to see him smile, but they all felt that they
should dread to incur his anger.

He was rough and unpolished, but he dressed like a dandy. He had
evidently changed his clothing since coming off watch, for he wore at
breakfast another flannel suit and low, patent leather shoes. His
trousers were carefully creased and turned up. He resembled more, in
appearance, a prosperous broker than the captain of a steamer whose
mysterious character made him seem all the more out of place aboard.
When they had finished breakfast he took a gold cigarette ca