"
"Well, by the same token, sailors can always recognize a ship they
have sailed in. They know the form of every plank and the line of
every bend. There are hundreds of marks that get spliced in the
memory, and are never forgotten. But in the present case there is no
room for any doubt, a portion of the figure head is still extant, and
the word _Nelson_ can be made out without spectacles."
"But how did it get there?"
"You know, Master Fritz, it could not have told me, even if I had
taken the trouble to inquire."
"Very true, Willis."
"I was determined, however, to find it out some other way, so I
steered for a cafe near the harbor, where the pilots and long-shore
captains go to play at dominoes. I was in hopes of picking up some
stray waif of information, and, sooth to say, I was not altogether
disappointed."
"Another meeting, I'll be bound," said Jack.
"My falling in with the _Nelson_ astonished you, did it not?"
"Rather."
"Then I'll bet my best pipe that this one will surprise you still
more. You recollect my comrade, Bill, _alias_ Bob, of the _Hoboken_?"
"Yes, perfectly."
"Then I met him."
"What! the man who had both his legs shot off, and died in consequence
of his wounds?" inquired Jack.
"The same."
"And that was afterwards thrown overboard with a twenty-four pound
shot tied to his feet!" exclaimed Fritz.
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