a bad man's face, and it was my first and last impression that the face
of Cornelys Jensen was the face of a rogue.

CHAPTER IX

THE TALK IN THE DOLPHIN

Captain Marmaduke presented me to the two men, while his hand still
rested on my shoulder.

'Brother,' he said, 'this is Master Ralph Crowninshield, of whom you
have often heard from Lancelot.'

'Aye,' said the old man, looking at me without any salutation. 'Aye, I
have heard of him from Lancelot.'

Captain Marmaduke now turned towards the other man, who had never taken
his eyes off me since I entered the room.

'Cornelys Jensen, here is Master Ralph Crowninshield, your shipmate that
is to be.'

Cornelys Jensen came across the room in a couple of swinging strides and
held out his hand to me. Something in his carriage reminded me of
certain play-actors who had come to the town once. This man carried
himself like a stage king. We clasped hands, and he spoke.

'Salutation, shipmate.'

Then we unclasped, and he returned to his post by the fireplace with the
same exaggeration of action as before.

The old man broke a short silence. 'Well, Marmaduke, why have you
brought this boy here?'

The Captain motioned me to a seat, which I took, and sat back himself in
his former place.

'Because the boy is going with me, and I thought that you might have
something to say to him before he went.'

'Something to say to him?'

The old man repeated the words like a sneer, then he faced on me again
and addressed me with an unmoving face.

'Yes, I have something to say to you. Young man, you are going on a
fool's errand.'

Captain Marmaduke laughed a little at this, but I could see that he was
not pleased.

'Come, brother, don't say that,' he said.

'But I do say it,' the old gentleman repeated. 'A fool's errand it is,
and a fool's errand it will be called; and it shall not be said of
Nathaniel Amber that he saw his brother make a fool of himself without
telling him his mind.'

'I can always trust you for that, Nathaniel,' said the Captain gravely.
The old man went on without heeding the interruption.

'A fool's errand I call it, and shall always call it. What a plague! can
a man find moneys and a tall ship and stout fellows, and set them to no
better use than to found a Fool's Paradise with them at the heel of the
world? Ships were made for traffic and shipmen for trade, and not for
such whimsies.'

The Captain frowned, but he said nothing, and tapp