"We just got in from Lisbon. Bound to Saltern with salt. What you doin'?"
"Coastin' a bit."
"Goin' ashore?"
"Not the night. Might see you to-morrer."
"We sails in the morning."
"Too bad. Well, drink one fer me. And remember me to all old hands you see."
The boat then passed on, and the mate, after a suspicious look at Ben, went back to his seat in the companion-way.
Ben was delighted with the chance meeting and the opportunity it had given him of getting word to the captain. For Ames was bound to meet Captain Stanley in his official capacity at Saltern, and the captain, knowing him to have come from St. Pierre and to be an old shipmate of Ben's, would be sure to question him.
Ben turned to go below to inform Dare of the fortuitous incident, but before he could do so Dare came on deck. Ben saw from his face that something out of the ordinary had happened, and he kept back his own news till he had heard Dare's.
"What is it?" he asked.