"How long have I been here?"
"About half an hour."
"Then he has had a good chance to get away. Did you bring me here?"
"Yes."
"You are very kind, Mrs. ——"
"I am Mrs. Clare and this is my daughter Rose."
"And I am Randy Thompson, a deckhand on the Hudson River steamboat Helen Shalley."
"Oh!" Mrs. Clare paused for a moment. "Do you know Mr. Polk, the purser?"
"Yes, but not very well. I just got the job as a deckhand to-day."
"Mr. Polk is a relative of mine by marriage."