"Why didn't the Captain pay him?"
"I suppose he didn't have the money."
"Then why didn't the man get the things he wanted, and have them charged?"
"That's a good one," laughed Bonny. "Because the storekeeper wouldn't trust him, of course."
"I never heard of such a thing," declared Alaric, indignantly. "I thought people could always have things charged if they wanted to. I'm sure I never found any trouble in doing it."
"Didn't you?" said Bonny. "Well, I have, then," and he spoke so queerly that Alaric realized in a moment that he had very nearly betrayed his secret. Hastening to change the subject, he asked:
"If you took the mate's place, who took yours?"
"Nobody has taken it yet, and that's what I'm after now—hunting for a new hand. The Captain couldn't come himself, because he's got rheumatism so bad that it's all he can do to crawl out on deck and back again. Besides, it's the first mate's place to ship the crew, anyhow."
"Then," asked Alaric, excitedly, "why don't you take me? I'll work hard, and do anything you say."
"You?" cried Bonny, regarding his companion with amazement. "Have you ever sailed a boat or helped work a vessel?"