“Drop into the drug-store and have a cigar, then?”
“We don't smoke, either, thank you,” came from Hal.
[pg 173] “You young men are rather hard to entertain in a place like this,” sighed the stranger, but his eyes twinkled.
“We are just as grateful for the intention,” Jack assured him.
“Tell you what I can do, gentlemen,” proposed the stranger, suddenly. “I might invite you down to my shack for a little while, and show you my books and some models of yachts and ships that I've been collecting. I'm quite proud of my collection in that line. Won't you come?”
Anything in the line of yacht or ship-models interested both of these sea-loving boys from the shipyard at Dunhaven. Jack graciously accepted the invitation for them both.
“And, though I have no soda fountain,” continued the bearded one, “I can offer you some soft drinks. I always keep some about the place.”
“How do you come to be living in a place like this, if I'm not too inquisitive?” queried Benson, as the three strolled down the street.
“Doctor's orders,” replied the bearded one. “So I've rented the best old shack I could get here, down by the water. I spend a good deal of my time sailing a sloop that I have. Curtis is my name.”
Jack and Hal introduced themselves in turn.