"Humph—'tit for tat'" mused Ray. "Norris and Duran talk to one another in the old code."
"Oh, and maybe you can tell what we were saying," bantered Norris.
"Sure," said Ray. "That fellow's 'tat' said—'Don't you dare follow me!' and your 'tit' said—'You're another.'"
"You're a mighty wise gazabo," said Norris.
"Of course," said Ray. "And I'm a mind reader, too."
"You, a mind reader!" said Norris. "And do you mean to say you can tell what I'm thinking?"
"Sure," said Ray. "You're thinking—a—you're thinking that I don't know what you're thinking."
And he had to dodge Norris's moccasin.
We were now keeping pretty much in that other schooner's wake. It gave us much satisfaction to find that the Pearl had superiority in speed, at least in a moderate breeze.
The Orion apparently had on all her sail; we were obliged to shorten sail a bit, to avoid overhauling the other. The waning moon came out of the horizon an hour before daybreak.