"Hum," remarked the commander of the Eagle reflectively. "So they came down in a heap, eh, and the water splashed all over 'em?"
"Yes," replied Bob, trying not to chuckle at the recollection.
"Hum," remarked the captain again, and he seemed to be having some difficulty with his breathing. Bob wondered if his friend was choking, he was so very red in the face, but he did not know that the mariner was trying hard not to laugh. The thought of the sight of the pair tangled up in the step-ladder was too much for him, though he did not want to encourage Bob in his reckless ways by showing enough interest to laugh.
"By the way," went on the captain suddenly, becoming rather solemn,
"I s'pose you've learned the principal parts of the ship by now?"
"By names, yes, sir. But I'm afraid I've got lots yet to learn."
"I should say you had. You know about as much how to sail a ship as
I would how to run a steam-engine from seeing a tea-kettle boil."
Captain Spark believed in making boys know their place, and he made up his mind he had a hard subject in Bob. Still, he was determined to reform him if it was possible.
"When do you expect to get into the Southern Pacific?" asked Bob, as he thought of the secret map Captain Obed had given him.
"It all depends on what weather we have. Why?"
"Here's something a friend of mine gave me," said Bob, pulling out the wrinkled piece of parchment. "He says there is treasure buried on an island in the Southern Pacific."