"What d'ye make of him, Max?"
Owen asked this question as he bent over his chum, while the other was making a great pretense of handling the haversack.
"Ask me something easy, please," the other replied, shaking his head from side to side.
"What bothers me is to understand why he called out, and let us all know he'd struck a find," Owen continued.
"Same here," Max added.
"You'd think that if Steve was the thief he seemed to be, his first act would have been to quietly pocket this big pearl, and just keep mum. Ain't it so, Max?"
"Seems that way," came the ready answer. "To do that would save a heap of trouble in taking it out of the bag while the rest of us slept."
"But perhaps Steve really enjoys that exciting part of the business," suggested Owen.
"Do you know, a thought struck me, though I can't take much stock in it,"
Max went on.
"Let's hear it, anyhow," remarked his chum.