By intently listening, the captain’s son heard several important items of news, and, greatly to his astonishment, discovered that Uncle Arad, Leroyd, and Mr. Weeks himself were playing right into each other’s hands, and that their object was to keep Brandon from getting back to his friends, and thus delay the sailing of the whaleback so that the craft on which the plotters expected to sail might get away first.
Snaggs was to keep a sharp lookout from the shoreward side of the whaleback and there was already a man in a boat patroling the riverside that Brandon might not return from that direction, and a third person was “shadowing” Adoniram Pepper’s residence. The ship owner’s office would be watched during the day.
As soon as Brandon made his appearance he was to be seized at once on the strength of the Rhode Island warrant and sent back to Chopmist. This, the conspirators hoped, would keep Caleb Wetherbee from sailing for several weeks, and by that time Leroyd and the ex-clerk expected to overhaul the Silver Swan—that is, this is what Weeks and Leroyd themselves were planning to do; but the former took care to say nothing about the Silver Swan to the deputy sheriff.
Finding that there was no chance to get aboard the whaleback just then, and having heard Weeks say that he was going to meet Leroyd and that they two were to go that night and see the vessel and her commander, Brandon decided to follow them, and find out the name of the craft and where she lay, believing that the information would be of value to himself and to his friends.
Piloted by Swivel, Brandon followed “Sneaky Al” to the New England Hotel and while the ex-clerk went inside for Leroyd the two boys waited without, and then took up the trail again when the two conspirators appeared.
The sailor and Weeks went over to Brooklyn and after two hours’ dodging and running and hiding, they tracked the rascals to the brig Success, lying at a Brooklyn wharf.
Brandon decided that it would never do to be so near and not hear the plans the villains made with the captain of the Success, so he rashly crept aboard and listened to the conversation at the cabin skylight. And this was when he got into trouble.
He heard the two plotters agree with the captain of the vessel (who was not in the scheme at all) to pay two hundred dollars for six week’s use of the brig, providing the Success put to sea at once.
She already had a very fair cargo for Savannah, and the agreement was that she should put in at that port for the time necessary for the cargo to be landed.
Thus, of course, the captain, who was the owner as well, was going to make a very good thing out of it, indeed. He asked no questions as to what use the brig was to be put to; and he agreed to allow Leroyd to accompany him to Savannah, where Weeks would meet them.