An' who'd ever o' thought as I'd find my long-lost brother in Zog's
enchanted castle full fifty fathoms deep down in the wet, wet
water!"

"Why, as fer that," replied Cap'n Bill, "it's YOU as is the
long-lost brother, not me. You an' your ship disappeared many a year
ago, an' ain't never been heard of since, while, as you see, I'm
livin' on earth yet."

"You don't look it to all appearances," remarked Cap'n Joe in a
reflective tone of voice. "But I'll agree it's many a year since I
saw the top o' the water, an' I'm not expectin' to ever tramp on dry
land again."

"Are you dead, or drownded, or what?" asked Cap'n Bill.

"Neither one nor t'other," was the answer. "But Zog gave me gills
so's I could live in the water like fishes do, an' if I got on land
I couldn't breathe air any more'n a fish out o' water can. So I
guess as long as I live, I'll hev to stay down here."

"Do you like it?" asked Trot.

"Oh, I don't objec' much," said Cap'n Joe. "There ain't much
excitement here, fer we don't catch a flock o' mermaids ev'ry day,
but the work is easy an' the rations fair. I might o' been worse
off, you know, for when my brig was wrecked, I'd 'a' gone to Davy
Jones's Locker if Zog hadn't happened to find me an' made me a
fish."