"So you got stranded?" he asked, as usual bringing his helpless pipe into play.
Then followed an account of the accident that ended in the precipitous visit to Luna Land.
"But who told you about it, Captain?" asked Grace once more.
"Kitty," he replied simply.
"Kitty saw us!" Margaret gasped. The surprise intended for Captain Dave had been diverted, it appeared.
"Yes, Kitty was there; but she saw what happened, as she explained it to me, and she knew you wouldn't stay long," explained the old sailor.
"But why didn't she speak to us?" pouted Cleo.
"Guess she thought it was safer to let you get off quietly as you got on," replied the Captain, and his deep set eyes wandered out over that familiar sea, although his audience wondered what ever he could see there to hold his attention after so many years of watching.
"I think she might have trusted us," said Helen, showing something like resentment.
"It likely was not that," the captain assured the girls. "She'd trust you, I'm sure, but she might not trust others," he finished mysteriously.