“I’ll meet him there!” cried Chet.
“So you will,” answered Andy. “For we are going to Portland instead of Rathley.”
The run to Portland was made without special incident, and as soon as the Ice King had tied up, Chet went ashore, with Andy, to hunt up the Evans.
He found that the craft lay at a dock three blocks away and soon covered the distance. She had come in the day before, and was busy unloading her cargo.
“So you are Tolney Greene’s son, eh?” said the captain to Chet. “I’ve heard of you, for your father spoke of you several times.”
“And where is he?”
“Started for home yesterday—to find you, he said, and to catch a rascal named Hopton, who had gotten him into trouble.”
“Hopton!” ejaculated Andy, who was present. “Do you mean a man named A. Q. Hopton?”
“That’s the fellow. Mr. Greene had it in for him good and proper. He committed some kind of a crime, and then fixed it on Mr. Greene, but Greene had the evidence against him—picked it up somewheres, just after signing to go on the Betsey Andrews.”
This was all the captain of the Evans could say, but it was enough, and without delay Chet arranged to go to Pine Run, and Andy said he would go along. Barwell Dawson agreed to meet them later, and insisted upon giving each youth a small roll of bankbills, for expenses.