this blame' ship without a scrap of
need of it. Here, hurry up with the lucre-boxes. I want to get across to
the old _Parakeet_ and wash the taste of a lot of things out of
my mouth."

CHAPTER XI

THE DEAR INSURED

"He isn't the 'dear deceased' yet by a very long chalk," said Captain
Kettle.

"If he was," retorted Lupton with a dry smile, "my immediate interest in
him would cease, and the Company would shrug its shoulders, and pay, and
look pleasant. In the mean while he's, shall we say, 'the dear insured,'
and a premium paying asset that the Company's told me off to keep an
eye on."

"Do much business in your particular line?" "Why yes, recently a good
deal. It's got to be quite a fashionable industry of late to pick up
some foolish young gentleman with expectations, insure his life for a
big pile, knock him quietly on the head, and then come back home in a
neat black suit to pocket the proceeds."

"Does this Mr.--" Kettle referred to the passenger list--"Hamilton's the
rogue's name, isn't it?"

"No, he's the flat. Cranze is the--er--his friend who stands to draw the
stamps."

"Does Mr. Hamilton know you?"

"Never seen me in his life."

"Does this thief Cranze?"

"Same."

"Then, sir, I'll tell you what's your ticket," said Kettle, who had got
an eye to business. "Take a passage with me out to the Gulf and back,
and keep an eye on the young gentleman yourself. You'll find it a bit
cold in the Western Ocean at first, but once we get well in the Gulf
Stream, and down toward New Orleans, I tell you you'll just enjoy life.
It'll be a nice trip for you, and I'm sure I'll do my best to make
things comfortable for you."

"I'm sure you would, Captain, but it can't be done at the price."

Kettle looked thoughtfully at the passenger list. "I could promise you a
room to yourself. We're not very full up this run. In fact, Mr. Hamilton
and Mr. Cranze are the only two names I've got down so far, and I may as
well tell you we're not likely to have others. You see Birds are a very
good line, but they lay themselves out more for cargo than passengers."

"So our local agent in Liverpool found out for us already, and that's
mostly why I'm here. Don't you see, Captain, if the pair of them had
started off to go tripping round the Mexican Gulf in one of the regular
passenger boats, there would have been nothing suspicious about that.
But when they book berths by you, why then it begins to look fishy
at once."