“Allow me to keep that secret to myself,” answered Billy Bowsprit, with a smile, holding out in his hand at the same time, however, several skeleton keys. “But you are not to suppose, Mr Coe, that these keys show that I have any bad habits; I have never used them except in such innocent ventures as the present.”
John took the skeleton keys in his hand; he had never seen such instruments before.
“I don’t think,” he remarked, returning the keys, “that any one of those could possibly unlock my outer door.”
“One must understand the use of them,” replied Billy Bowsprit. “I have others, however.”
“How did you so readily make your way to this point!” asked Captain Marston of Billy Bowsprit.
“Why, sir,” was the reply, “I have been over this road before, many years ago now. On that occasion, I was for a short time at the houses of both your father and Mr Coe. I came here because this was the place where this boat here was to meet you two gentlemen and myself.”
“Who is this friend of ours who wants to see us, Mr Bowsprit—I mean Mr Brown?” asked John.
“I beg your pardon, sir,” was the answer. “My captain particularly ordered me not to tell you; he wanted, he said, to give you a pleasant surprise.”
“What do you say, John?” asked Captain Marston. “Shall we accept the invitation of this unknown friend?”
“If we knew what to do with our horses,” said John, “and I could get a note home to tell them what has become of me, I should say ‘yes’ at once.”