und the rail!"

I should have laughed at his manner of speaking but that I knew he was
playing a part, and I did my best to obey the command.

The sailors of the ship, eager for anything by way of a change of
food, held out both hands invitingly for the fish, and I contrived to
swing the basket aboard.

Then it was that I saw an officer take charge of the fish, calling for
the after steward to come forward, and a moment later some one cried:

"Where's your captain?"

I sung out for Darius; but he pretended to misunderstand, and replied:

"They can have the lot for eight cents a bushel. Ask 'em if I shall
begin takin' 'em out?"

Then it was that I fancied he had some good reason for wanting to
remain out of sight, and I looked around in alarm to see what had
caused the trouble.

CHAPTER VII.

AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.

Jerry was at the tiller; Jim Freeman and his friends stood near me at
the main-hatch ready to obey the commands of Darius, and since all
hands of us, with the exception of Josiah Coburn, really were
oystermen, knowing no other business or trade, there was little reason
for the Britishers to have any suspicions regarding us.

It was evident, however, that Darius had seen something to cause him
alarm, otherwise he would not remain in the hold, having a care to
keep out of sight while he might be seeing much which would please the
commander to hear about.

So far as I could make out, the Britishers regarded us as ignorant
fishermen who were trying to earn a very slim livelihood by selling
oysters at a price which would hardly pay enough to provide food for a
crew the size of ours.

Three or four of the petty officers were making very awkward attempts
to open the shells with a marlin-spike, while the idle crew, having
nothing better to do, watched the proceedings on their ship as well as
aboard our craft.

I was not looking for an explanation of the old man's behavior among
the seamen, therefore gave little heed to the old shell-backs who
lined the starboard rail from the forecastle-deck to the mainmast.

Gaze intently as I might, it was impossible to see anything which
could have caused Darius uneasiness, and I dismissed the matter from
my mind with the belief that he remained hidden from view simply to
avoid being recognized as an old sailor whom it would pay to impress
into his majesty's service.

It was just when I was growing a trifle more cheerful in mind because
of having banish