“That’s the size of it. He came to ask me not to leave him behind when the brig was scuttled, an’ you can fancy what a turn it gave me. He didn’t seem to think it anything out of the way to tell the whole story, an’ I’ve taken the precaution of lockin’ him in his room.”
“That was right. He must fall overboard before daylight, or we shall stand a good chance of going to jail if we ever show up on shore again.”
“Now don’t talk foolishness,” Stout replied impatiently. “In the first place, I won’t have murder committed; it’s bad enough to scuttle a vessel. Then, again, it couldn’t be done without some of the crew knowing about it, and even if they simply had suspicions the loss of the brig immediately after the boy was silenced would show up the whole matter.”
“That’s what I don’t know. All I can say is as to what mustn’t be done an’ leave you to figger out the rest.”
The captain was silent for fully a minute, and then said abruptly:
“I wish you’d bring the bottle in here; I need something to clear my head a bit.”
Mr. Stout obeyed at once, and when he returned the master of the brig had seen a way out of what promised to be a very serious difficulty.
“We’ll soon settle him, and I’ll answer for it that the crew will be glad enough to help us.”
“Keep him a close prisoner from now out. Say that we have discovered he has some contagious disease——”
“But anybody with half an eye can see he’s well and hearty.”
“There are plenty of things which can be hatched up. Say leprosy; that will startle every man jack, I’ll go bail.”
“Then what? We can’t leave him on board when the brig goes down.”
“How thick-headed you are to-night, Stout! Take a drink to brighten you up. Suppose the men believe he’s a leper? The result will be that they’ll insist on our setting him ashore, as we should do in case he was really afflicted with the disease. We can land him on some small key, and the matter will be settled.”
“But he’ll talk all the same when he gets back.”
“Then it is really murder you are thinking of!”
“Not a bit of it! We’ll simply maroon him, with plenty of grub, and trust to chance for the rest. We’ll make Spider Key for the first land, and once he is there I’ll guarantee he stays.”
“But I don’t fancy the idea of such a thing as that,” Mr. Stout replied thoughtfully. “It is different, this scuttlin’ a vessel for the purpose of doin’ the insurance companies, while to maroon a boy is very much the same as puttin’ a knife into him, and perhaps more cruel.”