HOOK (gripping the stave for support). Who are you, stranger, speak.
PETER (who is only too ready to speak). I am Jas Hook, Captain of the Jolly Roger.
HOOK (now white to the gills). No, no, you are not.
PETER. Brimstone and gall, say that again and I’ll cast anchor in you.
HOOK. If you are Hook, come tell me, who am I?
PETER. A codfish, only a codfish.
HOOK (aghast). A codfish?
SMEE (drawing back from him). Have we been captained all this time by a codfish?
STARKEY. It’s lowering to our pride.
HOOK (feeling that his ego is slipping from him). Don’t desert me, bullies.
PETER (top-heavy). Paw, fish, paw!
(There is a touch of the feminine in HOOK, as in all the greatest pirates, and it prompts him to try the guessing game.)
HOOK. Have you another name?
PETER (falling to the lure). Ay, ay.
