Gooster, “whichever of them females I marries, I shall always ’ave the other as a burden round my neck.”

“Which of ’em gives all the orders?” inquired Mr. Dobb. “’Oo is the boss of the two?”

“They both bosses,” returned the skipper of the “Alert.” “And they both tries to boss each other, most independent. That’s what makes it so difficult. I’ve tried all ways to find out which is the one I ought to make up to, but I can’t. And that’s where I want your ’elp.”

“I see,” said Horace, softly. “That’s what you’re going to give me a job on the ‘Alert’ for, eh?”

“Well, you get this job settled satisfactory for me, and you won’t ’ave no cause to complain,” promised Captain Gooster. “You be ’elpful to me and you’ll be ’elpful to yourself.”

“Well, suppose you was to ask ’em straight out, sort of joking like, which one of ’em ’ad got the money,” suggested Horace, but with no great confidence.

“Tried that!” retorted Captain Gooster, curtly. “No good.”

“Which of ’em seemed most annoyed at the p. 12question?” asked Mr. Dobb, shrewdly. “She’d be the one ’oo ’adn’t got any.”

p. 12

“They neither of them said nothing. They just looked at me, and I began to talk about the weather.”

Horace, leaning back, folded his arms and tightly closed his eyes. Captain Gooster realizing that his companion was thus incubating thought, forbore from offering further speech, but sat waiting in some anxiety for demonstration of Mr. Dobb’s ingenuity.

“You’ll ’ave to take me up there and let me see ’em,” said Horace, at length. “Introdooce me to ’em as the new cook you’re signing for the ‘Alert.’ That’ll be the truth, so it’ll be quite all right.”

“What? A skipper introdooce ’is new cook—”

“Well, if they seems surprised at all, you can tell ’em what a superior young man I am really, and ’ow I’m an old friend of yours, and so on. It’s the only way I can do anything—I must see ’em personal. Suppose I was to start making inquiries off the neighbours, for instance. The fat would soon be in the fire then, wouldn’t it?”

“Matter of fact,” confessed the skipper, with reserve, “there ’as been more gossip about already than I care for.”

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