His eyes were thoughtful. "I'm in luck, woman," he said. "Listen. Will you do a thing for me?"
"I've a sort of a home, up on the hill above us here.... Observatory.... I've been waiting four months for a ship to come along, keeping a lookout from the top there.... Missed the Sally, somehow.... Must have come up after I came down...."
"We made the island a little before noon," she said.
He chuckled. "Ah, I was in my boudoir then.... I want to ship on the Sally. Does she need men?"
Her eyes clouded thoughtfully. "I—think so," she said. "They lost two, three days ago."
"What was it?" he asked quickly. "Fighting whale...."
She shook, her head. "Boat got lost ... and they were short of water. The jug wasn't fresh filled."
The man whistled softly. "That doesn't sound like one of Noll Wing's boats," he said. "Noll is a stickler on those things...."
Faith bowed her head, tracing a pattern in the sand with her forefinger. She said nothing. The man asked: "How long before they sail?"