The fog was indeed so dense that nothing could be seen at more than twenty paces away, while the damp, penetrating chill set all teeth chattering and kept them at it until rapid exercise set pulses going again. Then came breakfast to “confirm the cure,” Dick suggested, and the little company was comfortable again. That is to say, all of them but Larry. He was obviously uneasy in his mind, so much so that he had little relish for his breakfast.
“What’s the matter, Larry,” asked Tom, presently; “aren’t you warm yet?”
“Oh, yes, I’m warm enough, but there isn’t a breath of air stirring, and this fog may last all day. What do you think, Cal?”
“I think that very likely. I’ve seen fogs like this that lasted two or three days.”
“How on earth are we to get to Beaufort while it lasts?”
The question revealed the nature of Larry’s trouble.
“Why, of course we can’t do anything of the kind,” Cal answered. “We should get lost in the fog and go butting into mud banks and unexpected shoals. No. Till this fog clears away we can’t think of leaving the altogether agreeable shore upon which a kindly fate has cast us. But we can be happy while we stay, unless we make ourselves unhappy by worrying. I know what is troubling you, Larry, and it’s nonsense to worry about it. I often think I wouldn’t carry your conscience about with me for thirty cents a month.”
“But, Cal, you see it is our duty to notify the revenue officers of our discovery before those smugglers get away.”
“It may relieve your mind,” Cal answered in his usual roundabout fashion, “to reflect that they can’t get away. If they were still there when this fog came in from the sea, they will stay there till it clears away again. So we are really losing no time. In addition to that consolation, you should take comfort to yourself in the thought that even if the revenue officers were in possession of the information we have, they could do nothing till the fog lifts. So far as I know, at least, they can see no farther through fog than other people can, and shoals and mud banks are unlikely to respect their authority by keeping out of the way of such craft as they may navigate.”