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“Mr。Dodd。”returnedNares，“you’rerightaboutmehavingbeentoseathebiggerpartofmylife。Andyou’rerightagainwhenyouthinkIknowagoodmanywaysinwhichadishonestcaptainmayn’tbeonthesquare，nordoexactlytherightthingbyhisowners，andaltogetherbejustalittletoosmartbyninety-nineandthree-quarters。There’sagoodmanyways，butnotsomanyasyou’dthink；andnotonethathasanymortalthingtodowithTrent。Trentandhiswholerackethasgottodowithnothing——that’sthebed-rockfact；there’snosensetoit，andnouseinit，andnostorytoit：it’sabeastlydream。Anddon’tyourunawaywiththatnotionthatlandsmentakeaboutships。Asocietyactressdon’tgoaroundmorepubliclythanwhatashipdoes，norismoreinterviewed，normorehumbugged，normorerunafterbyallsortsoflittlefussinessesinbrassbuttons。Andmorethananactress，ashiphasadealtolose；she’scapital，andtheactressonlycharacter——ifshe’sthat。
Theportsoftheworldarethickwithpeoplereadytokickacaptainintothepenitentiaryifhe’snotasbrightasadollarandashonestasthemorningstar；andwhatwithLloydkeepingwatchandwatchineverycornerofthethreeoceans，andtheinsuranceleeches，andtheconsuls，andthecustomsbugs，andthemedicos，youcanonlygettheideabythinkingofalandsmanwatchedbyahundredandfiftydetectives，orastrangerinavillageDownEast。”
“Well，butatsea？”Isaid。
“Youmakemetired。”retortedthecaptain。“What’stheuse——atsea？Everything’sgottocometobearingsatsomeport，hasn’tit？Youcan’tstopatseaforever，canyou？——No；theFlyingScudisrubbish；ifitmeantanything，itwouldhavetomeansomethingsoalmightyintricatethatJamesG。Blainehasn’tgotthebrainstoengineerit；andIvoteformoreaxeing，pioneering，andopeninguptheresourcesofthisphenomenalbrig，andlessgeneralfuss。”headded，arising。“Thedime-museumsymptomswilldropinofthemselves，Iguess，tokeepuscheery。”
Butitappearedwewereattheendofdiscoveriesfortheday；
andweleftthebrigaboutsundown，withoutbeingfurtherpuzzledorfurtherenlightened。Thebestofthecabinspoils——
books，instruments，papers，silks，andcuriosities——wecarriedalongwithusinablanket，however，todiverttheeveninghours；andwhensupperwasover，andthetablecleared，andJohnsonsetdowntoadrearygameofcribbagebetweenhisrighthandandhisleft，thecaptainandIturnedoutourblanketonthefloor，andsatsidebysidetoexamineandappraisethespoils。
Thebookswerethefirsttoengageournotice。Thesewererathernumerous(asNarescontemptuouslyputit)“foralime-
juicer。”ScornoftheBritishmercantilemarineglowsinthebreastofeveryYankeemerchantcaptain；asthescornisnotreciprocated，Icanonlysupposeitjustifiedinfact；andcertainlytheoldcountrymarinerappearsofalessstudiousdisposition。ThemorecredittotheofficersoftheFlyingScud，whohadquitealibrary，bothliteraryandprofessional。TherewereFindlay’sfivedirectoriesoftheworld——allbroken-backed，asisusualwithFindlay，andallmarkedandscribbledoverwithcorrectionsandadditions——severalbooksofnavigation，asignalcode，andanAdmiraltybookofasortoforangehue，called_IslandsoftheEasternPacificOcean，Vol。III。_，whichappearedfromitsimprinttobethelatestauthority，andshowedmarksoffrequentconsultationinthepassagesabouttheFrenchFrigateShoals，theHarman，Cure，Pearl，andHermesreefs，LisianskyIsland，OceanIsland，andtheplacewherewethenlay——BrooksorMidway。AvolumeofMacaulay’s_Essays_
andashillingShakespeareledthevanofthebelleslettres；therestwerenovels：severalMissBraddons——ofcourse，_AuroraFloyd_，whichhaspenetratedtoeveryisleofthePacific，agoodmanycheapdetectivebooks，_RobRoy_，Auerbach’s_AufderHohe_intheGerman，andaprizetemperancestory，pillaged(tojudgebythestamp)fromanAnglo-Indiancirculatinglibrary。
“TheAdmiraltymangivesafinepictureofourisland。”
remarkedNares，whohadturnedupMidwayIsland。“Hedrawsthedrearinessrathermild，butyoucanmakeoutheknowstheplace。”
“Captain。”Icried，“you’vestruckanotherpointinthismadbusiness。Seehere。”Iwentoneagerly，drawingfrommypocketacrumpl
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