“We don’t want many fish just now,” said the captain.
“That’s lucky for us,” laughed Fred.
“What I mean is, that we want something for dinner, but that’s about all. After dinner we’ll see what we can do with our luck.”
When the time came for landing, the captain turned to the boys and said, “Before I start a fire I want to go up to that house yonder for a minute.”
“We’ll go with you,” suggested Fred, winking at John as he spoke.
“No, no,” said the captain sharply. “You stay right here on the shore. If you want to you can start a fire and have things goin’ so that when I come back everything will be ready.”
“What do you suppose is the matter with the captain?” inquired John after the departure of their guide.
“Why he’s either afraid of or he doesn’t like that Mr. Button. Maybe he’s the man that wrote that letter.”
“More likely he’s the man that the other fellow wrote the letter about,” laughed John. “I think myself that the old fellow will bear watching.”
“I haven’t seen anything in him that I thought was wrong,” said Fred. “Naturally he doesn’t waste very much affection on the officials of the law.”