"Do you mean you object to sailing this tug on account of some imaginary thing?" demanded Madden in utter surprise.
"Imaginary, sir!" protested Mulcher, "If you please, us lads on th' dock, the night th' Minnie B sunk, saw something swim off to th' south wrapped hall over in fire, sir. Imaginary thing! It bit a 'ole in th' Minnie B an' sunk 'er, sir!"
This recalled to Leonard's mind the peculiar phenomenon he had witnessed at the sinking of the Minnie B.
"What do you think the thing is?" he temporized.
"A—A sea sorpint, sir," stammered a cockney embarrassed.
"Sea serpent! Sea serpent!" scouted the American. "There is no such thing as a sea serpent!"
"That's w'ot th' hofficers always say," growled Mulcher.
"But it is a scientific fact—there's no such thing."
The well-fed Gaskin, who formed one of the group, made a bob. "That may well be, sor," he said in solemn deference, "but w'ether there is or isn't such a thing, sor, it's 'orrible to see, either way."
From the banding of the men against him, Madden became aware that they had decided on the real cause of the mystery behind his back, and he would have hard work to argue them out of the sea serpent idea.