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 and willing to learn, he made allowance for his inexperience.

The Neptune made slow headway, but she was a fairly good sea-boat, and Dave enjoyed this ambling trip more than he had being on either of the other vessels. So long as the crew did their work the captain did not interfere with them unduly, though, as one of the older hands explained: "When he do want to put up a kick he wears his heaviest boots."

On more than one occasion the captain, a Queenslander named Phelps, gave Dave a kindly word of encouragement and chatted pleasantly. The boy was coiling a rope when Captain Phelps showed how it could be done more expeditiously.

"Do you come of a sea-going family?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Dave replied. "My father was a ship's master, and so were his brothers."

"Your dad at sea now?"

"No, sir. He's been retired for a good many