"H'm! Harum-ph! He might have said 'please,' Skinner! Sounds
devilishly like an order, the way he puts it. Though he is
temporarily in command I challenge his right to handle our money until
I know more about him. Harum-ph! Reading between the lines, Skinner,
I see he says: 'If you send a skipper to Cape Town to bring the
Retriever home while I'm on the job, you're crazy.' Look over the
vouchers in Cap'n Noah's last report and let us ascertain how long
this forceful mate has been in our employ."

Now, the ordinary form of receipt to which a seaman puts his signature
when signing clear bears upon its reverse side a series of blank
spaces, which the captain must fill in. These blanks provide for
mention of the date of signing on, date of discharge, station held on
vessel and remarks. On none of the vouchers of the Retriever's last
voyage, however, did the name of Matthew Peasley appear.

"Must have shipped in San Francisco just before the vessel sailed for
her loading port," Cappy announced. "Send in a boy."

One of Cappy's young men was summoned.

"Son," said Cappy, "you run down, like a good boy, to the office of
the Deputy United States Shipping Commissioner and tell him Mr. Ricks
would like to see the duplicate copy of the crew list of the
barkentine Retriever."

When an American vessel clears for a foreign port the law required
that her crew shall be signed on before a Deputy United States
Shipping Commissioner, who furnishes a certified copy of the crew list