“Just as eager, sir.”
He was silent a moment, as I got into my shirt, and then he shot at me:
“What did you think of my brother, Alf Webb?”
I was rather taken aback for a moment. Then I saw that he expected a straight answer and I did not like to say that I did not like Mr. Alf as well as I did him. So I stammered:
“I—I thought there was something troubling Mr. Alfred’s mind.”
“Aye?” returned Mr. Barney, cocking his eye. “There’s something troubling both our minds, I reckon.” And then, after a moment’s silence, he asked: “Will the Seamew beat us, Webb?”
“I hope not!” I cried. “But the spirit among the crew of the Seamew is different from ours. Cap’n Somes would take any advantage he could to beat us; so would Mr. Hollister and—and——”
“And my brother?”
“I—I am afraid so. That is the way it impressed me,” I admitted.
“Alf didn’t use to be like that,” said Mr. Barney, gravely. “But he and I have been at outs for some time. It’s a bad, bad affair,” he added, more to himself than to me. “And it’s Uncle Jothan’s fault. Confound that old man, anyway!” he completed, with a good deal of emphasis.