ape man, one of the Ostable
Philbricks--he asked me if I wouldn't cruise up to the Barstow Brothers'
office and fetch down some papers that was there for him. So I didn't
have nawthin' to do 'special, and 'twas about time for my eleven
o'clock--when I'm in Boston I always cal'late to hist aboard one eleven
o'clock, rum and sweetenen' 'tis generally, at Jerry Crockett's saloon
on India Street and.... Aye, aye, sir! All right, all right, Cap'n
Sears. I'll keep her in the notch, don't worry. Well--er--er--what was I
sayin'? Oh, yes! Well, I had my eleven o'clock and then I cruised up to
the Barstow place, and the fust mate there, young Crosby Barstow 'twas,
he was talkin' with this Ogden Minot. And when I hove in sight young
Barstow, he sings out: 'And here's another Cape Codder, Ogden,' he says.
'You two ought to know each other. Cahoon,' says he, 'this is Mr. Ogden
Minot; his folks hailed from Bayport. That's down your way, ain't it?'

"'You bet!' says I. 'My home port's Harniss, and that's right next door.
Minot? Minot?' I says, tryin' to recollect, you understand. 'Seems to me
I used to know a Minot down that way. Why, yes, course I did! You any
relation to old Ichabod Minot, that skippered the _Gypsy Maid_ fishin'
to the Banks? Ichabod hailed from--from--Denboro, seems to me 'twas.'

"He said no pretty sharp. Barstow, he laughed like fury and wanted to
know if this Ogden Minot looked like Ichabod. 'Is there a family
resemblance?' he says. I told him I guessed not. 'Anyhow,' says I, 'I
couldn't tell very well. I only seen Ichabod when he was drunk.' That
tickled Barstow most to death. 'You never saw him but that once, then?'
he wanted to know. 'Oh, yes,' says I, 'I seen him about every time he
was on shore after a fishin' trip.'

"That seemed to make him laugh more'n ever and even young Ogden laughed
some. Anyhow, we got to talkin' and I told Barstow how I was cal'latin'
to go cook on the _Gallant Rover_. 'And I'm sick of it,' I says. 'I'd
like a nice snug berth ashore.' 'You would?' says Barstow. Then he says,
'Humph!' and looks at Minot. And Minot, he says, 'Humph!' and looked at
him. And then they both says, 'Humph!' and looked at me. And afore I set
sail from that office to carry Cap'n Philbrick's papers back to him I'd
agreed not to sign on for that v'yage as cook until I'd cruised down
here to Bayport along of young Ogden Minot to see how I'd like to be
sort of--of general caretaker and stevedore, as you might c