“Then look out for him, for he’s your foe,” blurted out Jack Judson.
“I do not believe he is over friendly,” responded Mark, while Jack said:
“I must be off, sir, for there’s a difference between us now; but I wish you success, Master Mark, and if you don’t win, I’ll be mistaken in my calculations.”
The coxswain saluted, when Mark again put out his hand and said:
“Good-by, coxswain, I guess we’ll often meet now.”
The boat pulled away, the coxswain very thoughtful now, for he remembered how he had once neglected his advantages and thrown away the chance of an appointment to the navy.
“I’d have been a lieutenant now, if I had gone in; but I didn’t have the grit to study, and to-day I am only a coxswain. But that youth has it in him to work his way upward, and he will; but he must keep his eye on Scott Clemmons, or he’ll foul him if he can.”
After the coxswain’s departure Mark went into the cabin, wrote his letters, one to his mother and another to Silly Sam, and he asked Captain Crane to hand the letter to the youth in person.
“I do not know if he can read or not, Captain Crane, but if he cannot, you please read it to him, and he’ll understand it. The letter to my mother I know you will deliver first, as you will run straight for Cliff Castle harbor?”
“Yes, Master Mark, and if you get time some day drop me a line to let me know how you are getting along,” said the honest skipper.