"Is there no remedy?" asked Uncle Nathan, anxiously.
"Certainly; you can go in the next boat, if you choose. I shall take the 'Belle of the West,' which I am pretty well assured will sail to-morrow, if this one does not. But I prefer this, as many of my friends go in her."
"But will they give you back your passage-money again?" asked the economical Yankee.
"I have not paid it yet," replied Henry, now understanding the position of his fellow-traveller.
"Then how did you secure a berth? The sign in the cabin says 'No berth secured till paid for.'"
"I see how it is. You have been dealing with these fellows as though they were honest men." He then explained that there is no security against imposition for travellers who pay their passage in advance, in case the boat gets aground, or the captain pleases to detain them an unreasonable time; that the "old stagers" never show their money till the trip is up; and much more useful information for the voyager on the Western rivers.
"And I have no berth yet! The fellow promised me one when we got off," said Uncle Nathan, chopfallen; for, if any one is keenly sensitive to an imposition, the Yankee is the man.
"There you are lame again," replied Henry. "You may get one, and you may not. As you have paid your fare, you had better keep quiet, and to-morrow I will assist you in securing your rights."
"Thank ye," replied Uncle Nathan, truly grateful for the kind sympathy of the officer. "I had no sort of idee that they played such tricks upon travellers."
"Fact, sir; this New Orleans is said to be a very naughty place," returned Henry, amused at the simplicity of his companion.