gs, like a gardener once we had? He had a sea-serpent all
down his back. He showed me one day."

The Captain smiled proudly.

"Tatooed! Talk of tatooing! I'll show yer--and it isn't everybody I'd do
it for neither. But I've taken a fancy to you, like my own young nipper
what died."

With an air of vast ceremony, as though he were throwing open the door
to all the universe, he slowly unwound from about his neck the dark blue
handkerchief, unbuttoned his coat, then a grimy shirt and displayed a
wall of deep brown chest. This fine expanse had no hair upon it, but
was illuminated with a superb picture of a ship in full sail against
a setting sun, all worked in the most handsome of blue tatoo. Jeremy
gasped. He had never dreamed that such things could be. He ventured to
touch the ship with his finger, and he could feel the Captain's manly
heart thumping like a muffled hammer beneath the skin.

"There's Queen Victoria on my right thigh and Nelson on my left, and the
battle of Trafalgar on the middle of my back. P'raps I'll show 'em you
one day. It wouldn't be decent exactly 'ere--too public. But one day you
come to my little place and I'll show 'em you."

"Will you really?" said Jeremy. "Didn't it hurt terribly?"

"Hurt!" said the Captain. "I should just think it did. I 'ad to put
cotton wool behind my teeth to prevent myself from screaming. But that's
nothing. What do you say to being tortured by the Caribbees natives
every day after breakfast for three 'ole months. A tooth out a day--"

"But your teeth are all there," said Jeremy.

"False," said the Captain. "Every one of 'em. And the things they'll do
to your toenails--it 'ud make your 'air creep on your 'ead to listen to
the things I could tell you--"

"Oh, it's awful!" said Jeremy. "And where is your ship now?"

"Ah, my ship!" the Captain replied, winking in the most mysterious
fashion; "it would be telling to say where that is. I can trust you,
I know; I'm a great judge o' character, I am, but not even with my
own mother, gone to glory now twenty years and as holy a soul as ever
breathed, I wouldn't trust even 'er with the secret."

"Why is it a secret?" asked Jeremy breathlessly.

"Treasure," said the Captain, dropping his voice.

"Treasure, nothing less nor more. Between you and me there's enough gold
on that there ship to satisfy the Prime Minister 'imself, to say nothing
of the jewels--rubies, pearls, diamonds. My word, if you could see them
diamonds.