“Have me and my mates made amends for striking hands with them fellows, cap’n?” asked Brown, when Frank went aft to take his place at the helm.
“Yes, I think you have,” was the answer.
“What will the old man do with us when we get to port?” continued Brown.
“I don’t know. If I were in his place, I should call the thing square. You helped take the vessel, but you helped get her back again, and so you’re even.”
“If you was the cap’n would you take us back into the crew again?”
“Yes, I would.”
“You wouldn’t mind saying that much to the old man, would you, sir? We want a chance to show him how sorry we are.”
Frank replied that he would bear the matter in mind, and the repentant sailor went forward feeling as if a mountain had been removed from his shoulders. The other two approached Frank on the same subject, at the first opportunity, and were both sent away with the assurance that Uncle Dick should hear a full account of the services they had rendered, and if a word of recommendation from himself and Archie would benefit them in any way, they should certainly have it. While he was at the wheel his cousin came up.
“I declare, it seems delightful to be able to talk to you once more without having some one around to hear what I say,” exclaimed the latter. “I hope we shall always get out of the scrapes we get into as easily as we got out of this.”
“You have done wonders,” answered Frank. “The honor all belongs to you, and I hope no one will rob you of any portion of it.”