Captain Barnes laughed, but shook his head.
“I see you’re spunky, if you are a girl,” he said. “But I never heard of a girl being cabin-boy, and I don’t think it would do.”
“I’d put on a boy’s clothes,” suggested Tom.
“You’ve begun to do it already,” said the captain, glancing at the cap and jacket. “I didn’t know at first but you were a boy. What makes you wear a cap?”
“Granny gave it to me. I like it better than a bonnet.”
They had by this time reached Broadway.
“You may steer across the Park to French’s Hotel,” said the sailor. “It’s too late to get breakfast at my sister’s.”
“All right,” said Tom.
They crossed the Park, and the street beyond, and reached the door of the brick hotel on the corner of Frankfort Street.
“I’ll go down into the restaurant first,” said Captain Barnes. “I feel like laying in a cargo before navigating any farther.”