Ethan had told Dale many times of the captain’s bravery, skill and splendid love of freedom; his tales had fired the young Virginian’s imagination to such an extent that he desired nothing better than to sail under such an able officer.
“It’s a disappointment to him, I suppose,” continued Dale, “not to have recovered the dispatch.”
“A very bitter one, indeed. And the fact that it was stolen while in his care makes it all the more so.”
“There is a slim chance of its ever being recovered now,” said Dale.
“I have thought a good deal about it since the impressment of that man, Dirk Hatfield,” answered Ethan. “And I fancy that the paper may not come under the eye of the British ministry in such a hurry, after all.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Well, in the first place, Hatfield would be forced to acknowledge himself a highwayman and tell how he came to have the dispatch in his possession.”
“You forget that Danvers said that no questions would be asked the person handing it over to Lord North.”
“I hold that saying in mind very well. But Hatfield would not trust to it; a hunted wolf has no confidence in the hunter, even though he have no weapon in his hands.”
“What do you suppose, then, would be the man’s plan of action?”