"The ship will be here for three days and I won't have much to do so we can put in the time together getting your outfit in shape," he told them.
"That'll be fine if you can spare the time," Bob assured him.
"It'll keep me out of mischief," the man laughed.
"But don't you think it would be a good idea to see if we can find someone who knew my uncle? You see he was here for several weeks and he must have gotten acquainted with somebody who would know something about where he started for," Jack suggested.
"Of course, and I think I can name the very man to go to. If he got well acquainted with anyone here the chances are a hundred to one that it was Pete Slinger. Pete's a character, but a good reliable man all the same. I don't believe there's a man, woman or child in Nome that doesn't know Pete well enough to call him by his first name and as for Pete—well, he can tell you the life history of about everyone who has spent upwards of two days in Nome during the past ten years."
"Is he Irish?" Bob asked.
"Irish and French."
"What does he do?" Jack asked.
"Keeps a store and sells everything from tooth picks to second hand pulpits."
"He ought to do some business," Bob remarked.