He seemed too exhausted to reply so she did not urge him to speak. The captain brought water which Ben drank thirstily.
“He’s evidently been tied up several hours,” the officer commented.
“Since last night,” Ben whispered, moistening his cracked lips.
“How did you get aboard?”
“I sneaked on when no one was looking—wanted to see what I could learn.”
“Who were the men that tied you up?”
“Don’t know. But before they caught me, I heard plenty. The men on this boat are mixed up in the dynamiting of the Conway Steel Plant.”
Penny nodded, for this information correlated with what she already had learned.
“Was Webb Nelson involved in the plot?” she asked eagerly.
“He set off the dynamite according to what I overheard last night,” Ben revealed. “But he got into a fight with the gang over his pay for the job. He tried to shake them down for a big sum, threatening to spill everything to the police if they didn’t cough up. It ended up in a fight, and Webb was pushed overboard.”