''Tis your own cabin any'ow,' said Braby. 'I'd walk in like a lord.'
'Well, I s'pose I must,' said Geordie reluctantly, and he went aft with Williams.
'And you're the owner?' asked Williams.
Geordie sighed.
'So it seems, stoo'ard,' he admitted.
'It beats the devil,' said Williams.
'So it does,' said Geordie, and the next moment he found himself announced as Mr. Potts, and he stood before the captain with his cap in his hand, looking as if he was about to be put in irons for mutiny. But as a matter of fact, the old skipper was a deal more nervous than he was.
'This seems all correct, Mr. Potts,' said Smith.
'Does it, sir?' asked Geordie, 'I'm very sorry, sir; but it ain't my fault, sir. I never meant—at least, I never allowed my uncle would do it, because my father, sir, said he was a blood-sucker, and they fought and I hit uncle with a brick, sir, to make him let go of father's beard.'
'Ah, yes, to be sure,' said the captain nervously, 'but I'm thinking what to do. It's a very anomalous situation for you to be here, Potts—Mr. Potts, I mean.'