"What have you to say, Carl?"
"I don'd t'ink der girl iss fooling us, und dot's all aboudt id. I say mit Tick dot ve keep on like ve're going, mit our vedder eyes shkinned bot' vays for preakers. Oof ve ged to Honturas, und Downsent don'd show oop, den ve can send him some caplegrams und say vere ve vas, und vy. Yah, ve hat pedder keep on."
"That's my idea. I can't see what motive any one would have for playing double with us. What enemies have we in New Orleans? And, if we had any there, why should they go to the trouble of buying tickets for us on the Santa Maria and sending us to Belize?"
"Right-o," agreed Dick. "We'll play a square game, and if any one tries to run afoul of us with anything different, why, we'll bring 'em up with a round turn. The outward trip to Honduras isn't costing us anything, anyhow."
Having arrived at this decision the boys left their stateroom and went down to their dinner.
The passenger business between New Orleans and Central America was not extensive, and there were no more than twenty people seated around the two tables in the dining room.
Matt and his friends found themselves at the captain's table, with Sixty and Miss Harris directly opposite. Miss Harris greeted them with one of her engaging smiles, and Sixty grinned and nodded his bullet-like head. But there was no talk across the board, although Carl was visibly eager for a little conversation with the girl.
Following the meal the boys strolled about the deck, hoping that either Sixty or Miss Harris would come looking for them and engage in talk which might either confirm their suspicions or else set them at rest. But nothing of the sort happened.
"They're sheering off from us," commented Dick. "Probably that's in accordance with Townsend's plan, too. I wish I knew what our work is to be."
"I've puzzled my brain over it till I'm tired," said Matt. "We've been a long while getting at the work, and while we've been waiting Townsend hasn't dropped a hint about what it was. We're just as much in the dark now as ever."