And rubbing his hands and chuckling, he rambled on.
He paused presently upon coming to a long, wooden landing stage, jutting out a long way to sea.
Arrived at the head of the jetty, he looked out earnestly seaward, in the endeavour to trace out which of the many ships in the offing could be the Harkaways' vessel.
"Well, well," he murmured to himself, "I don't care much, for I don't see what I could do if I knew it. I could only send my blessing straight after it—hah, hah! But with Harkaway's departure, I can breathe more freely. I have only to get over a few weeks quietly, and then all the dust which he has kicked up will blow over, and I can live quietly upon his money like a gentleman, until I decide upon the next step."
While he sat thus looking out to sea, his attention was suddenly attracted shorewards.
"Confusion!" he ejaculated, starting up; "there's someone coming along the jetty."
It was true.
Two sailors and a woman came sauntering along the landing stage, chatting as they came.
There was barely room for four abreast upon the narrow wooden pier, and consequently they might recognize him, providing they had heard the description of him.
"What an ass I was to come here," muttered Hunston; "to drive myself into a corner."