"Well, get to work, and some time we'll see what we will see," answered the captain; and there the talk was dropped.
It was a windy and cloudy day, and a majority of the passengers were glad enough to remain in the cabin during the trip up the river. About noon it began to thunder and the sky grew very black.
"We are up against a storm now," said Jones to Randy. "We'll have to take in some of the bunting."
The order was issued, and Randy set to work, with the other deckhands, to strip the decks. Soon it was raining furiously and all of the deckhands got pretty wet. All of the passengers had gone inside, so the decks were practically deserted.
Randy was folding up some bunting when he heard a quick step behind him. Turning, he saw himself confronted by Peter Polk. The purser's face was dark and full of hatred.
"Now, Thompson, I want to know what you did last night," snarled the man.
"I went ashore," answered our hero, as coolly as he could.
"To see Mr. Shalley?"
"Yes, if you must know."
"And you gave him that letter?"