"It was—er—I'm all mixed up about time," said Spike.
"S-Same here," replied the other.
"It was day before yesterday,—Tuesday," Spike finally remarked.
"T-Tuesday. That's right. W-Well, F-Father g-gave us this awful j-j-jolt at l-l-luncheon. Th-That was F-Father's idea of m-making m- m-merry. It didn't t-t-tickle us m-most to d-death, s-s-somehow. We t-talked it over that afternoon, out in the b-barn, and we decided to k-k-k-k-quit. We'd t-take the b-boat ourselves, and—"
"We were all going to sail over to Big Duck in a cat-boat, you know. Father hires a boat every summer."
"S-Say, S-S-Spike, g-go ahead, if you want to."
"I don't. You go on,—you're getting there all right. You'll come to the point in an hour or two."
"W-Well, I aint c-c-crazy about it, you know… W-Well, we were all going, the whole f-family, in a new cat-boat that belongs to C-Captain B-Bill P-P-P-Prendergast. We hadn't seen her, 'cause he's had her over at P-Porpoise Island all s-summer, taking out s-sailing p-parties. F-Father said she was d-down at W-W-Woodwell's Wharf—C-C-Captain B-Bill had brought her over in the morning, and then he'd gone back to P-Porpoise Island. He was engaged to c-c- cook c-c-clam chowders at the American House. W-We were going to sail her over to Big D-Duck—S-S-Spike and I—w-w-while F-Father m-messed around and th-thought he was running the whole s-s-show. That was his p-p-p-plan. B-B-But we decided to nip his g-g-game in the b-b-b-bud, b-b-b-b-(oh! hang it!) b-b-by sneakin' down ahead of the f-family, and just sailing away on that b-boat, and embarking on a c-c-career of pup-pup-pup-piracy!"
"You see," said Spike, "we got so sick of all this Kidd talk that we thought we might as well get something out of it."
"B-Besides," said the other, "w-we were d-d-d-desperate. W-We g- got this f-f-flag—s-skull and cross-bones, you know that we had on our b-boat, the 'J-J-Jolly Roger,' last summer, and we l-l-lit out for W-W-Woodwell's Wharf to f-f-f-f-fool F-Father. It was p- pretty f-f-foggy when we got to the wharf, and we s-saw it wouldn't be s-safe for F-Father and M-M-Mother and B-Betty and Alice and the b-b-baby to go sailing, anyhow. But there wasn't any b-boat at W-Woodwells,—she was over at M-M-Mulliken's Wharf. So w-we s-skun around, and g-got aboard, hoisted the s-sail, and s-started down the river. W-We were nearly out into the b-bay before it struck us that we weren't on the right b-boat."