“I think not,” Roy replied, “and there is no reason why you shouldn’t go ashore as soon as you please.”
“But since you can’t speak the language how will it be possible to tell the crew what you want done?”
“I never thought of that,” Roy replied in perplexity. “It might come unhandy.”
“You are right. Now, I have a proposition which you will do well to accept. This gentleman agrees to put the yacht into Key West for $15; the engineer wants $10 and the cook $8, they getting back here as best they can. Why not give me a ten-dollar bill for the services already performed and what I may be called upon for until the steamer is in the home port?”
“What do you think of it?” Roy asked, turning to Vance.
“I’ve got nothing to say,” the latter replied. “I don’t think it is the square thing to make these trades without at least consulting Ned.”
This remark piqued Roy, and he replied to the interpreter:
“All right, you shall go. Find out how much the machinists charge for their services and we will send them ashore at once. I suppose the engineer can finish the job of cleaning up?”
“Certainly,” Manuel said as he went into the engine-room, and a few moments later he came on deck with the workmen.
Their bill was $2, and this seemed so very reasonable as compared with some bills he had seen his father pay that Roy added a dollar to the amount.