As he set down the cup he gazed fixedly at both Tom and Sam for several seconds. Then he drew himself up as if he had come to some mental decision.
"I've got a plan to propose," he said slowly. "Do you want to listen or not?"
"What sort of a plan?" asked both.
"A plan to get you out of the clutches of Captain Langless and those Baxters," was the answer, which filled Tom and Sam with deep and sudden interest.
CHAPTER XIX.
AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.
"Are you willing to help us to get away?" cried Sam.
"Under certain circumstances I am," replied the mate of the schooner. "Captain Langless didn't treat me square after you got away from me, and Andy Cadmus aint the tar to forget such a thing in a hurry."
"What are your conditions?" asked Tom.
"The conditions are two in number. In the first place, if I help you, will you promise, in case the plan falls through, that you will not tell Captain Langless what I did, but let him believe that you got away on your own hook?"