were steady and his face honest. In spite of his prying
questions, he won Mr. Darling's good-will by the way he handled his
boat. Of all branches of human skill, that of seamanship appealed most
strongly to John Darling's heart and head. He respected a smart sailor
just as intensely as he despised a bungling one. He was an unusually
fine sailor himself, and could handle any vessel, large or small, as
easily as he could navigate it. So he answered a few of the fisherman's
questions good-naturedly, and asked a great many in return. George Wick
had heard of Chance Along, but had never been there. And why should he
have been there? Nobody ever went to Chance Along. Yes, he had once seen
Black Dennis Nolan.

"'Twas back in September, sir," he said. "Sure, didn't he put into
Raggedy Cove one night--him an' his fore-an'-after--bound from St.
John's, wid a freight o' grub an' gear. But what business would ye be
havin' wid the likes o' him, sir?"

Darling ignored the question and asked another. No, George Wick was not
familiar with the coast south of Witless Bay; but he had always heard
that it was a desperate bad coast.

"What is your business in Witless Bay?" asked Darling.

The young fisherman pointed to four boxes of plug tobacco in the bottom
of the bully.

"They bes for Skipper Walsh," he said. "I trades 'em for fish, an' then
I heads back for Raggedy Cove."

"If you will sail me right around to Chance Along I will pay you well
for it," said Darling. "My business in Chance Along is important--yes,
very important. It would be worth five sovereigns to you, my man--that
little trip."

George Wick looked interested, but shook his head.

"It bes a bad coast, sir," he said, "an' clean unbeknownst to me. An'
now it would be desperate, sir, what wid the ice a-chokin' all the
little coves so ye couldn't run in from a squall o' wind, sir."

"The shore-ice is gone, as you can see for yourself, and the drift-ice
will not be down this way until near June," replied Darling. "But don't
make any more excuses, George. You are not the man I want, anyway, for
I see that you are no good for anything but asking questions. I'll be
able to find some lad in Witless Bay, with a boat of some sort, who
isn't afraid of the coast to the southward."

George Wick sulked for a few minutes, then asked, "What bes yer business
wid Black Dennis Nolan, anyhow, sir? Bes ye a constable, sir, or
anything like that?"

"My business is of a private na