Going on board, the first man he met was the captain, to whom he said, touching his hat—
“Excuse me, captain; may I ask if you have a man in your crew named Stumps?”
“No, sir, no such name on my books.”
“Nor one named Shunks?”
“No, not even Shunks,” replied the captain, with a sternly-humorous look, as if he thought the visitor were jesting.
“Nor Gibson?” continued Rik.
“Yes, I’ve got one named Gibson. What d’ye want with him?”
“Well, I have reason to believe that he is—or was—a friend of a friend of mine, and I should like to see him.”
“Oh! indeed,” responded the captain, regarding his visitor with a doubtful look. “Well, Gibson has just got leave to go ashore, and I heard him say to one of his mates he was going to the Tartar public-house, so you’ll see him there, probably, for he is not invisible or’narily. But I don’t know where the Tartar is.”
“But I know,” returned Captain Rik; “thank you. I’ll go seek him there.”