"Are you looking for me?" he asked.
"I would like to speak with you," was the reply.
"Well, then, why didn't you come up like a man and say so?" demanded Tommy. "You needn't have skulked along in the dark!"
"Fact is," the man answered, "that I heard you making inquiries regarding the possibility of getting to Cordova tonight."
"Yes, that's where we want to go."
"Have you secured transportation yet?"
"We have not!" Tommy answered.
"Well, I was going to let you inquire at one more place," said the other, "and then tender you the use of my boat."
"Why were you going to wait?"
"Because I wanted you to exhaust your last chance so that I could get my own price for the service."