“Well,” he at length observed, “this is a hilarious state of things, I must say! I wonder when those men are coming?” Suddenly he assumed an attitude of declamation, and, raising his head and throwing out his right hand by way of gesture, he exclaimed: “‘The boy stood on the burning deck, Whence all but him had fled——’” These lines, not altogether inappropriate so far as they went, were interrupted here by some one coming up softly from behind and seizing the speaker by the collar. He quickly freed himself, however, and turning about, with hand still extended, finished his verse in good order: “‘When some one seized him by the neck. He turned; ’twas Captain Fred.’” Captain Fred laughed. “So here you are,” said he, “come up like a whale to spout.” “A very good joke, my dear brother,” replied Jasper. “I’ll tell you a better, though.” “What’s that?” asked Captain Fred. “Your merry men have not appeared yet.” “What!” exclaimed the captain, scowling and looking forward. Owing to a serious disagreement between the yacht’s foremast hands, Captain Fred had summarily discharged them all, and sent his sailing-master to Provincetown to pick up a new crew. It was now the third day that he had been absent on this errand; and Captain Fred had counted upon his arrival, with the four sailor men, by an early train that morning. “This is dreadfully annoying!” he declared. “‘In vain the captain shouted——’” Jasper began quoting again. Jasper had a talent for quotations, as the reader will presently perceive. But again he was cut off by an arrival on deck, this time that of three young ladies and a small boy. These were Captain Fred’s pretty young wife, his niece Ethel, her intimate friend Kitty, and little Fred,—the last sometimes known as Frederick the Little, as distinguished from his uncle, Captain Frederick the Great. The girls looked wonderfully fresh and pretty, considering they had just made their toilet in a seven by nine state-room. Kitty was Ethel’s school friend, and had only been with them a few days. She was a bright, vivacious young person, however, and had already made herself quite at home on board. It was she who spoke up now. “What is the matter, Captain Fred?” cried she. “Are the tea-kettle halliards foul again, this morning?” This was in allusion to a joke of Jasper’s, the first morning she had been on board. “The matter is,” said Captain Fred, looking as pleasant as he could, “that our crew has not yet arrived; and we may have to lie here a day or two longer.”