"When did she show up?" he asked.
"Two days ago, Cap'n," he replied.
"Come from the South?"
"Yes," replied the man. "Put in for coal, I reckon."
"Then put out for us," said the Captain briefly.
"Any 'baccy, Cap'n? Been out two days," remarked Jeems.
"Lift your lanky frame off that chest," replied the Captain, "and I'll git you some."
The man sprang up with remarkable alacrity, and as he unfolded length after length of his long figure, it seemed as if his head would touch the ceiling of the cabin. In fact, he did not miss it by many inches. It was a comical contrast between the short stooping figure of the Captain and the tall stranger.
"Waal, Jeems, I wouldn't advise you to grow any more, or I'll have to raise the roof of my cabin."
"That's what, Cap'n," replied Jeems imperturbably. "That's what happens when you grow up in Californy. You grow all the year around, and not like in New England where the winters makes you stubby."