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The crier limped slowly down the street toward us. We all halted to hear his next announcement. Stopping in the middle of the street he solemnly rang his bell two or three times. Then he threw back his head, and bellowed in a tremendous voice: "Hear what I have to say! Stolen! the cat-boat Hannah J. Pettingell from Mulliken's Wharf yesterday afternoon! Reward will be paid for information!
"Apply at the Eagle House," said he, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. "Come on! come on!" we begged the other three, "let's go to the Eagle House!" "Why? What for?" "That's the 'Hoppergrass' he said was stolen. Captain Bannister is here, at the Eagle House!" "But he didn't say the 'Hoppergrass'; he said the Hannah Billingsgate." "Pettingell. That's the other name of the 'Hoppergrass'."
The name was 'Hoppergrass. We thought there must be some funny business, a boat with two names, like that." "That's why the Captain had the crier call it the Hannah Pettingell," I reflected. "Well, we knew we were on the wrong boat," said Spike, "because Captain Bill Prendergast's is the 'Clara'." "B-B-But what could we d-d-d-do? We didn't d-dare to go b-back.
So I got out in the tender and read it, and it was 'Hannah J. Pettingell. Then there was another name under that, in gilt letters, in the regular way. That seemed kind of funny, and when I got back on the boat we unhitched the cords and pulled up the canvas sign. I tried again, hanging over the stern, and spelled out the gilt letters, one at a time.
Well, I thought his father must be plumb foolish, or something, but I didn't like to say so to HIM. Seems too bad to waste them gilt letters, or I'd a-had another name on her 'fore this. I wanted to use as many of them letters as I could, an' I thought of callin' her for my aunt, over at Greenland." "What is your aunt's name?" inquired Jimmy Toppan. "Hannah J. Pettingell."
"I'm looking for a boat," I said; "someone told me that it was here, this is Rogers's Island, isn't it?" "This is Rogers's Island, all right," he answered, "what kind of a boat is it you are looking for?" "She's a white cat-boat, the 'Hoppergrass', or the 'Hannah J. Pettingell', it's more likely that's her name." He looked at me inquiringly with his quick little eyes.
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