“I am not surprised,” he said, thoughtfully. “After the row with Andy, we had good reason to look for anything in the way of rascality. What do you propose to do?”
“I hardly know.”
“Although my opinion has not been asked, I should say we had better set them ashore as soon as possible.”
“To do that we would be precipitating the trouble, and, besides, I hardly see how it can be done. When the first boatload was landed, they might refuse to let the tender be brought back, even in case they left the schooner willingly. It is not going to be an easy matter to enforce obedience while they so far outnumber us. What is the look of the weather?”
“I think we shall have a fair sailing breeze by midnight.”
“Then it will be best to make an attempt to land them at Nassau. Arm yourself, and we will both remain on duty. At the first sign of insubordination use your weapons promptly.”
It could be seen that Mr. Jenkins was not pleased with this decision, but he was too good a sailor to find fault with the commands of his superior officer.
He entered his cabin, reappeared a moment later with bulging pockets, and went toward the companion-ladder, stopping there only long enough to say:
“You will not be needed on deck, captain. I’ll answer for that crowd until daylight.”
“It can do no harm to take excessive precautions, more especially when they involve nothing more serious than the loss of sleep. If you see the slightest sign of trouble, call me.”