“Who are they?” growled the captain.
“Why, this man, Mr. Button. He wants us to take him over to Drummond Island. He doesn’t know whether he will come back again with us or not.”
“My guide says he will ride in the skiff,” suggested Mr. Button.
“That won’t be necessary, unless he wants to,” said Fred.
“That’s the way we’ll go,” said Mr. Button quietly, and at once the five passengers took their places on board the swift, little Gadabout.
“What’s the matter with the captain?” whispered Grant in a low voice to Fred as soon as the motor-boat had put out from the dock.
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Look at him, that’s all. He’s grouchy or else he’s afraid. He looks to me as if he wasn’t very enthusiastic over the addition to the list of passengers.”
“It doesn’t make any difference whether he is or not. We chartered the boat and can do what we please with it.”
Whether or not the captain was suspicious of the newcomer, the boys gave no further attention to him. In a brief time they were drawn to the newcomer, whose knowledge of the region and whose stories of the early days at once appealed strongly to his young listeners.