"You've sure got your customers well trained, Pete," the captain smiled.
"They know better'n ter fool wid me," Pete grinned. "Jerry's sick wid a bad cold an' it laves me all alone in the store," he explained. "By the way," he added as though with a sudden thought, "I wonder if you bye's are related iny ter a man what was here a few weeks ago.. His name was the same as yourn, front name was Silas, Silas Lakewood."
"He is our uncle," Bob told him. "And we've come up here to find him. Did you know him?"
"I did thot. He used ter come in a lot an' chin wid me an' a mighty interstin' chinner he was too, let me tell yer. Guess he'd bin about all over the world."
"Yes, Uncle Silas was a great traveler and the funny part of it is that we've never seen him."
"Is thot so? It do seem strange. He's a kinder queer loike feller too: didn't seem half the time ter know jest what he did want, but allys seemed ter be wantin' sumpin'."
"Did you know he was going up the Yukon with a man by the name of Long?" Bob asked anxiously.
"Yep, he told me all about it a few days afore he left an' I did all I could ter keep him from goin'."
"Why was that?"
"Cause I didn't trust thot man, Long, what was a goin' wid him, not none I didn't. But his mind was made up and thar was no sech thing as changin' him. He thought Long was all thot he made hisself out ter be an' yer couldn't say a word agin him."