They stared at each other and realized that they were on the same quest, then without a word spoken they flattened themselves against the bales in case the two men should pass that way.
But Pierre, they soon learned, was leaving the store. They heard Giraud say "à demain," then heard him retreat in the direction of his office. Immediately they both headed for the street. They reached it just in time to see Pierre's rangy figure turn a corner, and followed hot-foot after him.
They had no time to exchange confidences or to give explanations at the moment, so concentrated were they on the affair in hand.
Pierre, they observed, was making by an indirect route for Treloar's wharf. And sure enough, at the end of ten minutes' walk, the trail ended there. Pierre, who had not, it seemed, the slightest suspicion that he was being followed, whistled for a boat and in a few minutes was being rowed towards the shipping in the centre of the harbour.
Dare and Ben ran on to the wharf and whistled for a boat also, but there was not one to be had. All they could do was to wait and see if possible what ship Pierre was boarding. They were fortunate in this, for Pierre boarded a small schooner on the edge of the shipping.
"Now we've got to row out there and find out her name," declared Dare, speaking to Ben for the first time since their encounter, "or we may not know her again."
"I'd know her," stated Ben, who had been eyeing the schooner closely and expertly.
"All the same, we ought to know her name," insisted Dare, "and the best time to find it out is while she's under our eyes."
"Aye, perhaps you're right," said Ben, "but I wouldn't want them on board to catch us at it."
"Who's going to notice a rowboat passing astern?" asked Dare, and certainly in such a maze of shipping not much attention was likely to be paid to them.