"With the captain?"
"Yes, the dog-captain—it's all one."
The sailors looked at one another, afraid to say anything.
"Man or dog," muttered Pen, "I declare that that animal will have his account one of these days."
"Come, Clifton," asked Bolton seriously, "you don't mean to say that you believe the dog is the real captain?"
"Indeed I do," answered Clifton with conviction. "If you noticed things like I do, you would have noticed what a queer beast it is."
"Well, tell us what you've noticed."
"Haven't you noticed the way he walks on the poop with such an air of authority, looking up at the sails as if he were on watch?"
"That's true enough," added Gripper, "and one evening I actually found him with his paws on the paddle-wheel."
"You don't mean it!" said Bolton.