"I'm almost anything nowadays, if there's a dollar to be made,"

returned the young man.

The Ransom's captain gave him a wink. "I'm on to what happened on

board the Olenia" he confided. "Feller who was in the crew told me.

You're good enough for old Marston's girl. Why haven't you gone up to

New York and taken--"

"Cut that conversation, Dodge," barked Mayo, his face hard and his jaw

jutting threateningly. "Good day!" added the young man, slamming the

pilot-house door behind him.

His schooner, standing off and on, picked him up.

"There's no use hanging around here," he informed the old skipper.

"They're going to junk her, if they can find anybody fool enough to bid.

She'll be guarded till after the auction."

Therefore the Ethel and May shook out all her canvas and headed full

and by for Maquoit to secure her fresh supply of bait.

"It's a shame," mourned Captain Candage, staring over the taffrail at

the ice-sheathed steamer. "'Most new, and cost two hundred and fifty

thousand dollars to build, if I remember right what the paper said when

she was launched."

"If she was making money they'll have another one in her place," said

Mayo.

"Don'no' about that, sir. The Bee line wasn't none too strong

financially, I'm told--a lot of little fellers who put in what they

could scrape and borrowed the rest. Depends on insurance and their

courage what they do after this." He offered another observation after

he had tamped down a load in his black pipe. "Men will do 'most anything

for money--enough money."

"Seems as if I'd heard that statement before," was Mayo's curt

rejoinder.

"Oh, I know it ain't in any ways new. But the more I think over what has

happened to the Conomo, the pickeder seems the point to that remark.

And whilst I was standing off and on, waiting for you, I run close

enough to that steamer to make out a few faces aboard her."

Mayo glanced at him without comment.

"F'r instance, I saw Art Simpson. You know him, don't you?"

"He was captain of Mr. Marston's yacht once."

"Why did he leave her?"

"I heard he had been discharged. That was what the broker said when he

hired me."

"Yes, that's what Simpson said. He made a business of going around and

swearing about it. Seemed to want to have everybody 'longcoast hear him

swear about it. When I see a man make too much of a business of swearing

about another man I get suspicious. After Art Simpson worked his cards

so as to get the job of second officer on board the new Conomo I

got more suspicious. Now that I have seen how that steamer has

been plunked fair and square on Razee, I'm almighty suspicious.

I'm suspicious enough to believe that she banged during Art Simpson's

watch."




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024