"There's nothing lost that a good friend gets," said Walter, putting his arm round Ned.
"Well said. It's a principle I have always acted upon."
"It struck me, while Ned was speaking, that if we carried such kind of freight as he suggests, why not go and peddle it out at some of the small ports. What is to hinder going to the plantation of this very Lemaire, and swap our truck for his, get the right side of him, and that would give us a first-rate opportunity to get at Peterson."
"So you could. Nobody but a Yankee would have thought of that; whereas, if you should go hanging round there without any business, you would be suspected in a moment, watched, and perhaps shot or stabbed."
"Allow me to make a suggestion," said Captain Brown.
"Certainly; the more heads the better."
"Does that Lemaire own those drogers, or only go in them?"
"Owns them! Man alive, he owns three estates and four or five hundred niggers. I've sold him lumber, bought sugar and coffee of him, and they say he treats his slaves well, and gives them a chance to earn money for themselves, and buy their freedom."
"Then he must have to buy a great many spars for drogers' masts. Why not take a deck-load of spars and the other stuff in the hold? Then he would be sure to trade with you, especially if you gave him a good bargain. If he didn't want all the spars at once, he could pile them up."
"Those drogers are large, and require quite a large stick for masts. It would take a larger vessel than the boys could handle. You can't keep them on hand in that climate. If you pile them up, they rot; if you put them in the salt water, the worms will eat them up in sixty days."