The more he thought about it the greater became his regret. He did not wish to meet Darrell, but he knew he would be regarded as a coward if he failed to appear. Then he set about trying to devise some method of escaping the encounter without seeming to back down. After a while, he fancied he had hit upon the proper idea.
That evening Jabez found an excuse which gained him permission to go to the village. Dick Merriwell had likewise obtained leave, and in town Dick saw Jabez talking with two fellows who looked like sailors, and were plainly tough characters. Lynch was speaking to them in a confidential manner when he happened to observe Merriwell, and at once he gave the men the tip and moved away.
"Something’s up," decided Dick, his curiosity aroused by the suspicious actions of the fellow. He thought of following Lynch, but decided to keep his eyes on the sailors.
This did not prove a hard task for the boy, who had been trained by Old Joe Crowfoot in the art. He saw the sailors strike out toward The Harbor, and, although it seemed like time wasted, he followed.
At The Harbor was an old house that had been turned into a saloon. The sailors entered the place. Of course Dick had no thought of going in there, but five minutes later he was crouching beneath a broken window, from which shone a light.
A look through the window had shown him the sailors within, and they were talking to a third man, quite as rough as themselves. The trio were seated around a table. An old woman came in and brought drinks for the three.
Dick felt a desire to hear what they were saying, but, for a time, they spoke in low tones, so he caught only an occasional word. What he heard, however, was enough to convince him that some sort of deviltry was afoot. Several times the old woman was summoned to bring drinks, and, at last, under the influence of the liquor, the men began to speak louder.
"It’s easy," declared one, who had a black beard.
"The fellow will give us ten each, and we can knock out the lubber without any trouble at all. He’s only a boy."
"Why didn’t you an’ Jim do it alone?" asked the third man.