The five pairs of seamen
were well scattered about, as they had been instructed to be, and they
did not appear to have attracted the attention of the others in the
vicinity.
Pair No. Three were the first of the party the officers encountered, and
no others appeared to be near them. One of them was smoking his pipe,
and both of them were taking it very easily. Not far from them was a
knot of men who seemed to be disturbed by some kind of an excitement.
As the couple encountered manifested no interest in the affair, Christy
concluded that they must know something about it, unless they were
extremely scrupulous in adhering to the orders given them.
"What is the row there, French?" asked Christy in a low and guarded
tone, though there was no stranger very near him.
"The man in the middle is the captain of that schooner you see off the
shore, sir. His mate and three of his crew have deserted the vessel, and
he can't go to sea without them," replied French.
"They say the steamer ahead is to tow the schooner out; but the captain
cannot go because he has only two men left," added Lines, the other man
of the pair.
"Do you know where to find Nos. One and Two?" continued the leader of
the expedition.
"I do not, sir; for we keep clear of each other, as we were ordered,"
answered French, as he looked about him for the men designated.
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