"Then as a passenger?"
"We are a cargo ship."
"Still, if I make it worth your while?"
"Our accommodation might not be such as would suit you."
The captain suspected this man, who came to him in the midst of the darkness asking for a passage, of having perpetrated some crime. He felt sure that Budua was too hot a place for him, and that he was anxious to get away.
"I can put up with anything—a sack on deck."
"Climb up," replied the captain.
Vranic managed to catch the rope ladder, and, after much difficulty, he climbed on board.
The captain, seeing him and not liking his looks, felt confirmed in his suspicions; therefore he asked him a rather large sum, at least three times what he would have asked from anybody else.
Vranic tried to haggle, but at last he paid the money down. The lad with the boat disappeared; still, he only felt safe when—a few hours afterwards—the anchor having been heaved, the sails spread, the ship began to glide on the waters, and the dim lights of Budua disappeared in the distance.