"Well, of all the odd fellows I ever met he is the limit," was Tom's comment. "Why, he'd do for a comic valentine!"
"I almost had to laugh in his face," said Sam. "Even now I can't look at him without grinning."
"He's a character," was Dick's opinion. "You'll never get tired with that chap around," and in this surmise he was correct, for Bahama Bill was as full of sea yarns as some fish are full of bones, and he was willing to talk as long as anybody would listen to him.
"Very much pleased to know ye all," said he with a profound bow to the ladies. "Ain't seen such a nice crowd since I sailed on the Mary Elizabeth, up the coast o' Maine, jest fourteen years ago. At that time we had on board Captain Rigger's wife, his mother in law, his two sisters, his brother's wife, his aunt and—"
"Never mind the Rigger family just now, Camel," interrupted Mr. Rover.
"What I want to know is, are you ready to sail?"
"Aye, aye! that I am, and I don't care if it's a for two months or two years. Once when I sailed on the Sunflower the captain said we'd be out a month, and we struck a storm and drifted almost over to the coast a' Africy. The water ran low, and—"
"Well, if you are ready to sail, we'll start without further delay," interrupted Anderson Rover, and gave the necessary orders to Captain Barforth.
"Good bye to home!" cried Dick, and took off his cap. "When we return may we have the treasure safely stowed away in the hold or the cabin!"
"So say we all of us!" sang out Tom.
Steam was already up and a cloud of smoke was pouring from the funnel of the steam yacht. The lines were cast off, and a few minutes later the vessel was on her voyage down the Delaware River to the bay.