“Punch!” howled Nelson. “Good night, you fellows; I really must be going.”
But Dan pulled him back to the bed.
“You stay here,” he said. “This joke’s all right if it did come from Punch.”
“Let him tell it and get it over with,” advised Tom, between splashes at the washstand.
“Well, there was an Englishman,” began Dan. “No, there were two Englishmen.”
“Make it three, old man,” advised Nelson. “There’s luck in odd numbers.”
“Shut up, you! They were on a steamer, and had the same stateroom.”
“Which had the lower berth?” inquired Tom.
“And they were strangers to each other,” continued the narrator. “Well, one of the Englishmen went down——”