of the Nuptial Chime a hurried inspection, he
remarked:

"There seems to be a strong runnin' to 'vi-va-ci-ous brunettes' and
'blondes with tender and romantic dispositions.' Which of them kinds are
you sufferin' for, Perez? Oh, say! here's a lady that's willin' to
heave herself away on a young and handsome bachelor with a income of ten
thousand a year. Seems to me you ought to answer that."

"Oh, hush up, Eri! 'Tain't likely I'd want to write to any of them in
there. The thing for us to do would be to write out a advertisement of
our own; tell what sort of woman we want, and then set back and wait for
answers. Now, what do you say?"

Captain Eri looked at the advocate of matrimony for a moment without
speaking. Then he said: "Do you really mean it, Perez?"

"Sartin I do."

"What do you think of it, Jerry?"

"Think it's a good idee," said that ancient mariner decisively. "We've
got to do somethin', and this looks like the only sensible thing."

"Then Eri's GOT to do it!" asserted Captain Perez dogmatically. "We
agreed to stick together, and two to one's a vote. Come on now, Eri,
we'll match."

Captain Eri hesitated.

"Come on, Eri!" ordered Captain Jerry. "Ain't goin' to mutiny, are you?"

"All right!" said Captain Eri, "I'll stick to the ship. Only," he added,
with a quizzical glance at his companions, "it's got to be settled
that the feller that's stuck can pick his wife, and don't have to marry
unless he finds one that suits him."

The others agreed to this stipulation, and Captain Perez, drawing a long
breath, took a coin from his pocket, flipped it in the air and covered
it, as it fell on the table, with a big hairy hand. Captain Eri did
likewise; so did Captain Jerry. Then Captain Eri lifted his hand and
showed the coin beneath; it was a head. Captain Jerry's was a tail.
Under Captain Perez' hand lurked the hidden fate. The Captain's lips
closed in a grim line. With a desperate glance at the others he jerked
his hand away.

The penny lay head uppermost. Captain Jerry was "stuck."

Captain Eri rose, glanced at his watch, and, taking his hat from the
shelf where the dishes should have been, opened the door. Before he went
out, however, he turned and said:

"Perez, you and Jerry can be fixin' up the advertisement while I'm gone.
You can let me see it when I come back. I say, Jerry," he added to the
"sacrifice," who sat gazing at the pennies on the table in a sort of
trance, "don't feel bad about it.