"Drop it, then," replied Mulgate sullenly. "Get over the fence, Corny. Nobody is using that sailboat, and we may as well take it for a while."
[CHAPTER III]
THE DIGNIFIED NAVAL OFFICER
Corny climbed over the high palisade fence, with the assistance of Mulgate, and the party walked to the sailboat at the beach below. By this time it was dark, though the gloom was not very dense under a clear sky.
"Do you know anything about this boat, Corny?" asked Mulgate, as the trio approached the handsome craft, for such she was beyond a doubt.
The crusty tones of the speaker indicated that he had not yet recovered from the set-back he had plainly received in the late conversation, though he denied that he had any evil intentions in regard to Miss Florry.
"I do; I know all about her," replied Corny.
"Well, why don't you tell what you know?" demanded Mulgate.
"What do you wish to know about her?" inquired Corny, who was disposed to maintain his equality in spite of the military rank of his companion, which he had incautiously betrayed in the beginning.
"Whose boat is it?" asked Mulgate.