"The commodore is a mighty nice man."
"Ay, that he is," I replied, thinking that Darius had been drilling the crew in our absence to sing the praises of Joshua Barney both in and out of season.
"We're goin' to have a chance to do some big things."
"Why do you think so?"
"Because when Darius gave the word that the pungy had better be hauled down stream a bit an' anchored, the commodore put a stop to it, by allowin' that he wanted this craft where he could put his hand on her."
"And because of that you think that we are to play an important part in this portion of the war, eh?"
"It looks like it for a fact," Jim replied, strutting to and fro, and I could not but laugh outright, for the idea that we might be called upon to do more than any others seemed ridiculous.
Matters began to wear a different look a moment later, however, when an officer came over from the Scorpion, and said that the commodore would have speech with Jerry and me.
"Where is Darius?" I asked, looking around without seeing the old man.
"He's been aboard the schooner this last half hour an' I've taken particular notice that everybody else is kept out of the cabin," Jim replied. "That's one reason why I'm so certain we'll have a soft time of it while we stay with the fleet."