job as bosun. Even that was not forthcoming, and now his money was
entirely dissipated.

Now, when a big overgrown kid finds himself penniless three thousand
miles from a friend and minus three meals in succession, the fourth
omission of the daily bread is not likely to pass without violent
protest. Matt was still a growing boy, with a growing boy's appetite;
consequently on the morning of his second day of fasting he came to
the conclusion that, with so much of his life before him, a few months
wasted would, after all, have no material bearing on his future; so he
accepted a two months advance from a crimp and shipped aboard the
American barkentine Retriever as a common A.B.--a most disgraceful
action on the part of a boy, who, since eighteenth birthday, had been
used to having old sailors touch their foretop to him and address him
as "Mr. Peasley, sir."



CHAPTER III

UNDER THE BLUE STAR FLAG


Matt had been attracted to the barkentine Retriever for two very
potent reasons--the first was a delicious odor of stew emanating from
her galley; the second was her house flag, a single large,
five-pointed blue star on a field of white with scarlet trimming.
Garnished left and right with a golden wreath and below with the word
Captain, Matt Peasley knew that house flag, in miniature, would look
exceedingly well on the front of a uniform cap; for he now made up his