"Guess not. So far as I know he only wanted to see me once."
"No, no, no. You know what I mean, Cap'n Sears.... Well—er—er—you seen him, anyway?"
"Yes, I saw him."
"Um-hm ... so you said."
"Yes, I thought I did."
"Oh, you did—yes, you did.... Um-hm—er—yes."
So Judah, too, was obliged to do without authentic information concerning Judge Knowles's reason for wishing to meet Sears Kendrick. He hinted as far as he dared, but experience gained through years of sea acquaintanceship with his former commander prevented his doing more than hint. The captain would tell just exactly what he wished and no more, Judah knew. He knew also that attempting to learn more than that was likely to be unpleasant as well as unprofitable. It was true that his beloved "Cap'n Sears" was no longer his commander but merely his lodger, nevertheless discipline was discipline. Mr. Cahoon was dying to know why the judge wished to talk to the captain, but he would have died in reality rather than continue to work the pumps against the latter's orders, expressed or intimated. Judah was no mutineer.