"Why, I think Costigan is all right, but he isn't needed here, anyway, so he'd better go ashore also."
"Easily settled, then, Mr. Baldwin. I can send Mr. Costigan off in charge of the shore party. At what hour do you wish them all to return, sir?"
"Not a minute before midnight!"
"Very good, sir. I can tell Mr. Costigan that you've been called ashore, that you will dine there, and that you are very glad of this opportunity to give the older members of the crew a chance to enjoy themselves ashore."
"Excellent, indeed!" cried Mr. Baldwin, in a low tone. "What do you say, Ross?"
"If Captain Halstead can vouch so heartily for the silence and discretion of his own friends, then the plan ought to clear the decks so that we can get Giddings aboard—if we find him—without any comment or scandal at all," agreed Jason Ross.
Joseph Baldwin employed himself stripping a few banknotes from a roll that he drew from a trousers pocket.
"Give this money to Mr. Costigan, Captain, and tell him to see to it that the men have a good time on shore—though no drunkenness! And you, Captain Halstead, I trust to see to it that none but your own friends remain aboard."
Ten minutes later Captain Tom returned to the owner's suite to report that Third Officer Costigan and the crew, including the stewards and cooks, had gone ashore in the tender, Jeff Randolph running the boat in.