A gruff sea captain is having trouble manning his ship because of rumors it's haunted. He inveigles Stanley and Oliver into helping him shanghai a crew from the sailors at a dockside bar. Once aboard, the captain warns them that whoever says the word "ghost" will get his head twisted from north to south. At sea, one of the drunken sailors falls into a trough of whitewash, terrorizing Stanley and Oliver into blurting out "ghost" in front of the enraged captain.