There was something so open and ingenuous in the admiral that Captain Blaker, for the first time on record, burst into a shout of laughter. He went to the break of the poop and addressed the mate.
"Do you hear, Mr. Simpson?" he inquired genially.
"Send him down, sir," said Simpson.
"Are you sure you can pound him?"
Simpson gritted his teeth and foamed at the mouth.
"Kick him off the poop, sir."
The admiral spoke anxiously.
"I'm a first-class navigator, sir. Is it a bargain?"
And Blaker, who had never liked Simpson, laughed till he cried.
"Are you willing to stake everything on your fightin' abilities, Mr. Simpson?"