"W-Well, I aint c-c-crazy about it, you know... W-Well, we were all going, the whole f-family, in a new cat-boat that belongs to C-Captain B-Bill P-P-P-Prendergast. We hadn't seen her, 'cause he's had her over at P-Porpoise Island all s-summer, taking out s-sailing p-parties. F-Father said she was d-down at W-W-Woodwell's Wharf--C-C-Captain B-Bill had brought her over in the morning, and then he'd gone back to P-Porpoise Island. He was engaged to c-c- cook c-c-clam chowders at the American House. W-We were going to sail her over to Big D-Duck--S-S-Spike and I--w-w-while F-Father m-messed around and th-thought he was running the whole s-s-show. That was his p-p-p-plan. B-B-But we decided to nip his g-g-game in the b-b-b-bud, b-b-b-b-(oh! hang it!) b-b-by sneakin' down ahead of the f-family, and just sailing away on that b-boat, and embarking on a c-c-career of pup-pup-pup-piracy!" "You see," said Spike, "we got so sick of all this Kidd talk that we thought we might as well get something out of it." "B-Besides," said the other, "w-we were d-d-d-desperate. W-We g- got this f-f-flag--s-skull and cross-bones, you know that we had on our b-boat, the 'J-J-Jolly Roger,' last summer, and we l-l-lit out for W-W-Woodwell's Wharf to f-f-f-f-fool F-Father. It was p- pretty f-f-foggy when we got to the wharf, and we s-saw it wouldn't be s-safe for F-Father and M-M-Mother and B-Betty and Alice and the b-b-baby to go sailing, anyhow. But there wasn't any b-boat at W-Woodwells,--she was over at M-M-Mulliken's Wharf. So w-we s-skun around, and g-got aboard, hoisted the s-sail, and s-started down the river. W-We were nearly out into the b-bay before it struck us that we weren't on the right b-boat." "I went down into the cabin," said Spike, "and it was all full of bags and things. Our stuff had gone over--some of it--to Big Duck that morning, by the steamer. And the rest, Father was going to bring down to the wharf in the carriage. But these bags were marked a lot of strange names,--Toppan, and Edwards, and so on." "T-Tell him about the n-name, S-S-Spike." "Oh, yes. There was a strip of canvas hitched over the stern,--it had something painted on it in black letters. I hung over the stern, but I couldn't make it out,--because it looked upside down, of course. So I got out in the tender and read it, and it was 'Hannah J. Pettingell.' Then there was another name under that,--in gilt letters, in the regular way. That seemed kind of funny, and when I got back on the boat we unhitched the cords and pulled up the canvas sign. I tried again, hanging over the stern, and spelled out the gilt letters, one at a time. The name was 'Hoppergrass.' We thought there must be some funny business,--a boat with two names, like that." "That's why the Captain had the crier call it the Hannah Pettingell," I reflected. "Well, we knew we were on the wrong boat," said Spike, "because Captain Bill Prendergast's is the 'Clara'."