"It shall be done, sir. They are all good men and true."
"Mr. Woodridge will reward them handsomely if nothing transpires ashore."
Hector lay on Captain Ben's bunk, and they stood looking at him.
Ben took a sudden resolution.
"Abe, I will confide in you, tell you a secret, which if disclosed means ruin to us all, and a living death to him."
"I think I understand, sir."
"You guess who he is?"
"I know, sir. A terrible change has come over him, and no wonder, but I can recognize him, for I knew him and loved him in the old days. There's not one in a thousand would know him, but I do—it's Hector, sir, is it not?"
"Yes, it's Hector Woodridge, or what's left of him. He's in a bad way, Abe."
"He is, sir."