Locking the door behind them, the two lads descended. On the landing they met Cal Gifford and Ding-dong Bell who shared the next room to themselves. Both had had a good wash-up, as had Nat and Joe, and the party looked considerably spruced up from the travel-stained individuals who had entered the hotel a short time before.
Captain Akers, a bluff, blond-bearded seaman, greeted them effusively. He knew all of them except Cal. The mountaineer and the sailor shook hands with a feeling of mutual respect as they surveyed each other. Both were men of action and decision and recognized those qualities in the other.
The captain's assistant on board the "Nomad" turned out to be a slender yet muscular youth, introduced by the mariner as Sam Hinckley. He was a capable young chap, said the captain, and had been of the greatest assistance to him when the "Nomad's" engine became cantankerous in a blow she had encountered on her way up the coast. It was this that had caused the delay. But Hinckley, who possessed a wonderful knowledge of marine gasolene engines, had managed to adjust the difficulty more speedily than the captain would have thought possible.
Presently, after an enthusiastic discussion of the boat and her good points, Captain Akers drew Nat aside.
"I regard this young chap Hinckley as quite a find," he said. "He presented himself at the boat yard some time ago and said he was looking for work. Although I didn't much need a hand, I tried him out and he proved himself so capable that he was hired regularly. He has rather a remarkable history. It seems that he hails from the South Seas—somewhere in the Marquesas Group, I believe. He left there on account of some trouble he had with a relative. He did not confide to me what it was and since he did not seem anxious to let me know, I have never pressed him on this part of his history. It was sufficient for me to know that I had a good, capable workman who, so far as I have been able to observe, is as honest as the day is long, and a thorough seaman."
"He looks all of that," agreed Nat, with a glance at Hinckley's broad shoulders and upright bearing. The young sailor stood chatting with the others at some little distance down the hotel porch.
"And now what do you say if we go out and inspect the 'Nomad'?" asked Captain Akers.
This was a proposal which naturally met with no negative votes. But right here a problem presented itself. Who was to stay to guard the sapphires; for, of course, such a thing as leaving them unwatched was not to be thought of. The question was settled by Cal Gifford, who insisted on remaining behind. Maybe the mountaineer was anxious to postpone his introduction to Old Ocean. At any rate, he seemed anxious to remain, so the boys, who were dancing about with impatience to inspect the "Nomad," did not press him very hard to change his resolution, as that would have meant that one of their number must remain on shore.
The "Nomad" proved all that Captain Akers had claimed for her. Her main cabin was roomy and provided with a stateroom for "the owner," and several berths of the type used on sleeping cars which folded up during the day or when they were not in use. Aft of the main cabin came a tiny galley, fitted with bright, new utensils, and opposite was a washroom.
A short flight of steps led to the cockpit, forward of which the engines were located, being reached by a door from the cabin. The cockpit was of the shallow, self-baling type. From it a short flight of steps led to a miniature "bridge" placed athwartship on top of the cabin. This was surmounted by a "military-mast," with cross-trees and halliards for hoisting signals.