“Yes.... But it wasn’t the Lower Deck that I was seeking.”
“The Wardroom? The Gunroom?”
“The Gunroom, as a matter of fact. I wanted to see——”
“But the Gunroom officers, as well as the Lower Deck, use the Ship’s Library. We have a Ship’s Library, you know.”
“Yes, I know. I’m very glad of it.”
Mr. Baring extended his telescope in the direction of Mr. Alter’s bag. “Where is your stock? Not in that little bag?”
“No; as a matter of fact some of my stock is already in the Ship’s Library.”
“Come, come,” Mr. Baring exclaimed, “that won’t do; that won’t wash at all. The Ship’s Library isn’t bought from casual booksellers, you know; it is a Service issue.”
“Dear me,” answered Mr. Alter, putting down his bag on the deck, and selecting a visiting-card from his case, “but I don’t think I have made a mistake.”
“Then I must have made a mistake,” Mr. Baring remarked with sarcasm. This was a persistent little fellow, he thought.