In front of the office of the Captain of the Port, Pembroke came face to face with the same French naval officer. The two men regarded each other stolidly and passed on without speaking.
[CHAPTER II—THE TRAGEDY OF THE BAY]
“Why did you turn the Englishman down so hard?” asked Danny Grin, as he and Dave sat at the stern of the launch that sped down the river and then out to the naval anchorage in the bay.
“I didn’t,” Darrin replied.
“You shut off his proposal to visit us on board.”
“Dan, didn’t you notice the look that French naval officer gave Pembroke?”
“No.”
“Perhaps you noticed how stiffly the Frenchman stepped away after returning our salutes.”
“I saw that,” said Dan, “and wondered at it.”
“I think the French officer was trying to flag to us an intimation that Pembroke isn’t one who would pass inspection in naval circles.”