And at the end of all the stories we realized that we didn’t know, even now, how he happened to be sailing along just in time to rescue us.
“I sailed all the way from Bluar Boor,” he said, “on purpose to see you. To tell the truth, I had designs on the ‘Sea Monster’ which will not be carried out now. I laid up last night inside the Headland breakwater and made an early start this morning for the last leg of the trip. I recognized the ‘Sea Monster’ a long way off, but I must say I was surprised when I saw Jerry’s shirt signaling so distressfully. Of course I knew who you were at once, when you called the place the ‘Sea Monster,’ but Christine did stagger me for a minute.”
“Stagger you?” I said. “Why?”
“I’ve been thinking you were ‘Christopher’ all this time, you see,” he said, “but, being a man of infinite resource and unparalleled sagacity, I immediately perceived the true state of affairs.”
“Are you a professor?” Jerry asked.
“Heavens, no!” our man laughed. “Why do you ask?”
“On account of your style,” Jerry said. “It’s so grand and stately. So are your letters, sometimes.”
“I am but a poor bridge-builder,” the Bottle Man said, “but I can turn words on or off as I want ’em, like a hose.”
By this time the boat was almost in, and our man brought it up neatly to the float beside the ferry-slip, and some men came over and helped him to moor it. Then he got out and came back in a minute with the man who always meets the ferry in an automobile to hire. The man looked as if he were in a dazy dream, which I don’t blame him for at all, because we did look quite weird. He and the Bottle Man lifted Gregg, mattress and all, and stowed him in on the back seat of the automobile. The rest of us perched on the front seat and the running-board, trying to conceal our strange appearance from the staring of quite a crowd which was gathering, as it was just ferry-time.
Our man said, “17 Luke Street, and go carefully.” It surprised us for a second to hear him say our address as if he’d known it always, but then we realized that he had known it for quite a long time.