“Fire ahead, Yank! Please!” begged Johnny.
“Well,” said Yank, “when I drew that steamer ticket, it struck me that somebody might want it a lot more than I did, especially as you fellows drew blank. So I hunted up a man who was in a hurry, and sold it to him for five hundred dollars. Then I hired one of these sail-rigged fishing boats and laid in grub for a week and went cruising out to sea five or six miles.”
Johnny opened one eye.
“Why?” he demanded feebly.
“I was figgerin’ on meeting any old ship that came along a little before the crowd got at her,” said Yank. “And judgin’ by the gang’s remarks that just left, I should think I’d figgered just right.”
“You bet you did,” put in Talbot emphatically.
“It must have been mighty uncomfortable cruising out there in that little boat so long,” said I. “I wonder the men would stick.”
83“I paid them and they had to,” said Yank grimly.
“Why didn’t you let us in on it?” I asked.
“What for? It was only a one-man job. So then I struck this ship, and got aboard her after a little trouble persuading her to stop. There wasn’t no way of making that captain believe we’d sleep anywheres we could except cash; so I had to pay him a good deal.”