He took a step toward the door, then halted.
"I've told you this because it may do some one of you some good while there's time. Don't throw your lives away, as I've thrown away mine!"
The sober, startled faces of his hearers apparently recalled him to himself.
"Sorry I spoke so freely," he apologized. "Forget it, boys, and forget me! Everybody else has. Good night!"
He opened the door.
"Won't you stop ashore with us?" invited Spurling. "We can fix you up a bunk."
"No; I must go aboard. My dog and cats would be lonesome; wouldn't sleep a wink without me. They're mighty knowing animals."
He went out and closed the door. The boys looked at one another. Lane was the first to speak.
"What d'you suppose was the matter with him? Must have been something pretty bad to make him feel that way. But, say! Didn't he make that violin talk? Never heard anything like it before!"
That night the boys went to bed feeling unusually serious. Percy, in particular, did not get to sleep until late. The stranger's remarks had given him much food for thought.