“Thissickensme。”Isaid。“Let’sgoondeckandbreathe。”
Thecaptainnodded。“ItISkindoflonely，isn’tit？”hesaid。
“ButIcan’tgouptillIgetthecodesignals。Iwanttorunup’GotLeft’orsomething，justtobrightenupthisislandhome。
CaptainTrenthasn’tbeenhereyet，buthe’lldropinbeforelong；
andit’llcheerhimuptoseeasignalonthebrig。”
“Isn’ttheresomeofficialexpressionwecoulduse？”Iasked，vastlytakenbythefancy。“’Soldforthebenefitoftheunderwriters：forfurtherparticulars，applytoJ。Pinkerton，MontanaBlock，S。F。’“
“Well。”returnedNares，“Iwon’tsaybutwhatanoldnavyquartermastermighttelegraphallthat，ifyougavehimadaytodoitinandapoundoftobaccoforhimself。Butit’sabovemyregister。Imusttrysomethingshortandsweet：KB，urgentsignal，’Heaveallaback’；orLM，urgent，’Theberthyou’renowinisnotsafe’；orwhatdoyousaytoPQH？——’Tellmyownerstheshipanswersremarkablywell。’“
“It’spremature。”Ireplied；“butitseemscalculatedtogivepaintoTrent。PQHforme。”
TheflagswerefoundinTrent’scabin，neatlystoredbehindaletteredgrating；Nareschosewhatherequiredand(Ifollowing)
returnedondeck，wherethesunhadalreadydipped，andtheduskwascoming。
“Here！don’ttouchthat，youfool！”shoutedthecaptaintooneofthehands，whowasdrinkingfromthescuttlebut。“Thatwater’srotten！”
“Begpardon，sir。”repliedtheman。“Tastesquitesweet。”
“Letmesee。”returnedNares，andhetookthedipperandheldittohislips。“Yes，it’sallright。”hesaid。“Musthaverottedandcomesweetagain。Queer，isn’tit，Mr。Dodd？ThoughI’veknownthesameonaCapeHorner。”
Therewassomethinginhisintonationthatmademelookhimintheface；hestoodalittleontiptoetolookrightandleftabouttheship，likeamanfilledwithcuriosity，andhiswholeexpressionandbearingtestifiedtosomesuppressedexcitement。
“Youdon’tbelievewhatyou’resaying！”Ibrokeout。
“O，Idon’tknowbutwhatIdo！”hereplied，layingahanduponmesoothingly。“Thething’sverypossible。Only，I’mbotheredaboutsomethingelse。”
Andwiththathecalledahand，gavehimthecodeflags，andsteppedhimselftothemainsignalhalliards，whichvibratedundertheweightoftheensignoverhead。Aminutelater，theAmericancolours，whichwehadbroughtintheboat，replacedtheEnglishred，andPQHwasflutteringatthefore。
“Now，then。”saidNares，whohadwatchedthebreakingoutofhissignalwiththeold-maidishparticularityofanAmericansailor，“outwiththosehandspikes，andlet’sseewhatwaterthereisinthelagoon。”
Thebarswereshovedhome；thebarbarouscacophonyoftheclankingpumproseinthewaist；andstreamsofill-smellingwatergushedondeckandmadevalleysintheslabguano。
Naresleanedontherail，watchingthesteadystreamofbilgeasthoughhefoundsomeinterestinit。
“Whatisitthatbothersyou？”Iasked。
“Well，I’lltellyouonethingshortly。”hereplied。“Buthere’sanother。Doyouseethoseboatsthere，oneonthehouseandtwoonthebeds？Well，whereistheboatTrentloweredwhenhelostthehands？”
“Gotitaboardagain，Isuppose。”saidI。
“Well，ifyou’lltellmewhy！”returnedthecaptain。
“Thenitmusthavebeenanother。”Isuggested。
“Shemighthavecarriedanotheronthemainhatch，Iwon’tdeny。”admittedNares；“butIcan’tseewhatshewantedwithit，unlessitwasfortheoldmantogooutandplaytheaccordionin，onmoonlightnights。”
“Itcan’tmuchmatter，anyway。”Ireflected。
“O，Idon’tsupposeitdoes。”saidhe，glancingoverhisshoulderatthespoutingofthescuppers。
“Andhowlongarewetokeepupthisracket？”Iasked。“We’resimplypumpingupthelagoon。CaptainTrenthimselfsaidshehadsettleddownandwasfullforward。”
“Didhe？”saidNares，withasignificantdryness。Andalmostashespokethepumpssucked，andsuckedagain，andthementhrewdowntheirbars。“There，whatdoyoumakeofthat？”heasked。“Now，I’lltell，Mr。Dodd。”hewenton，loweringhisvoice，butnotshiftingfromhiseasyattitudeagainsttherail，“thisshipisassoundastheNorahCreina。Ihadaguessofitbeforewecameaboard，andnowIknow。”
“It’snotpossible！”Icried。“WhatdoyoumakeofTrent？”
“Idon’tmakeanythingofTrent；Idon’tknowwhetherhe’saliaroronlyanoldwife；Isimplytellyouwhat’sthefact。”saidNares。“AndI’lltellyousomethingmore。”headded：“I’vetakenthegroundmyselfindeep-watervessels；IknowwhatI’msaying；andIsaythat，whenshefirststruckandbeforeshebeddeddown，sevenoreighthours’workwouldhavegotthishookeroff，andthere’snomanthateverwenttwoyearstoseabutmusthaveknownit。”
Icouldonlyutteranexclamation。
Naresraisedhisfingerwarningly。“Don’tletTHEMgetholdofit。”saidhe。“Thinkwhatyoulike，butsaynothing。”
Iglancedround；theduskwasmeltingintoearlynight；thetwinkleofalanternmarkedtheschooner’spositioninthedistance；andourmen，freefromfurtherlabour，stoodgroupedtogetherinthewaist，theirfacesilluminatedbytheirglowingpipes。
“Whydidn’tTrentgetheroff？”inquiredthecaptain。“Whydidhewanttobuyherbackin’Friscoforthesefabuloussums，whenhemighthavesailedherintothebayhimself？”
“Perhapsheneverknewhervalueuntilthen。”Isuggested。
“Iwishweknewhervaluenow。”exclaimedNares。“However，Idon’twanttodepressyou；I’msorryforyou，Mr。Dodd；I
knowhowbotheringitmustbetoyou；andthebestIcansay’sthis：Ihaven’ttakenmuchtimegettingdown，andnowI’mhereImeantoworkthisthinginproperstyle。Ijustwanttoputyourmindatrest：youshallhavenotroublewithme。”
Therewassomethingtrustyandfriendlyinhisvoice；andI
foundmyselfgrippinghandswithhim，inthathard，shortshakethatmeanssomuchwithEnglish-speakingpeople。
“We’lldo，oldfellow。”saidhe。“We’veshakendownintoprettygoodfriends，youandme；andyouwon’tfindmeworkingthebusinessanythelesshardforthat。Andnowlet’sscootforsupper。”
Aftersupper，withtheidlecuriosityoftheseafarer，wepulledashoreinafinemoonlight，andlandedonMiddleBrook’sIsland。Aflatbeachsurroundedituponallsides；andthemidstwasoccupiedbyathicketofbushes，thehighestofthemscarcelyfivefeethigh，inwhichthesea-fowllived。Throughthiswetriedatfirsttostrike；butitwereeasiertocrossTrafalgarSquareonadayofdemonstrationthantoinvadethesehauntsofsleepingsea-birds。Thenestssank，andtheeggsburstunderfooting；wingsbeatinourfaces，beaksmenacedoureyes，ourmindswereconfoundedwiththescreeching，andthecoilspreadovertheislandandmountedhighintotheair。
“Iguesswe’llsaunterroundthebeach。”saidNares，whenwehadmadegoodourretreat。
Thehandswereallbusyaftersea-birds’eggs，sotherewerenonetofollowus。Ourwaylayonthecrispsandbythemarginofthewater：ononeside，thethicketfromwhichwehadbeendislodged；ontheother，thefaceofthelagoon，barredwithabroadpathofmoonlight，andbeyondthat，theline，alternatelydarkandshining，alternatelyhovehighandfallenprone，oftheexternalbreakers。Thebeachwasstrewnwithbitsofwreckanddrift：someredwoodandsprucelogs，nolessthantwolowermastsofjunks，andthestern-postofaEuropeanship；allofwhichwelookedonwithashadeofseriousconcern，speakingofthedangersoftheseaandthehardcaseofcastaways。Inthissoberveinwemadethegreaterpartofthecircuitoftheisland；hadanearviewofitsneighbourfromthesouthernend；walkedthewholelengthofthewesterlysideintheshadowofthethicket；andcameforthagainintothemoonlightattheoppositeextremity。
Onourright，atthedistanceofabouthalfamile，theschoonerlayfaintlyheavingatheranchors。Abouthalfamiledownthebeach，ataspotstillhiddenfromusbythethicket，anupboilingofthebirdsshowedwherethemenwerestill(withsailor-likeinsatiability)collectingeggs。Andrightbeforeus，inasmallindentationofthesand，wewereawareofaboatlyinghighanddry，andrightsideup。
Narescrouchedbackintotheshadowofthebushes。
“Whatthedevil’sthis？”hewhispered。
“Trent。”Isuggested，withabeatingheart。
“Weweredamnedfoolstocomeashoreunarmed。”saidhe。
“ButI’vegottoknowwhereIstand。”Intheshadow，hisfacelookedconspicuouslywhite，andhisvoicebetrayedastrongexcitement。Hetookhisboat’swhistlefromhispocket。“IncaseImightwanttoplayatune。”saidhe，grimly，andthrustingitbetweenhisteeth，advancedintothemoonlitopen；whichwecrossedwithrapidsteps，lookingguiltilyaboutusaswewent。
Notaleafstirred；andtheboat，whenwecameuptoit，offeredconvincingproofoflongdesertion。Shewasaneighteen-footwhaleboatoftheordinarytype，equippedwithoarsandthole-
pins。Twoorthreequarter-caskslayonthebilgeamidships，oneofwhichmusthavebeenbroached，andnowstankhorribly；andthese，uponexamination，provedtobearthesameNewZealandbrandasthebeefonboardthewreck。
“Well，here’stheboat。”saidI；“here’soneofyourdifficultiesclearedaway。”
“H’m。”saidhe。Therewasalittlewaterinthebilge，andherehestoopedandtastedit。
“Fresh。”hesaid。“Onlyrain-water。”
“Youdon’tobjecttothat？”Iasked。
“No。”saidhe。
“Well，then，whatailsyou？”Icried。
“InplainUnitedStates，Mr。Dodd。”hereturned，“awhaleboat，fiveashsweeps，andabarrelofstinkingpork。”
“Or，inotherwords，thewholething？”Icommented。
“Well，it’sthisway。”hecondescendedtoexplain。“I’venouseforafourthboatatall；butaboatofthismodeltopsthebusiness。Idon’tsaythetype’snotcommoninthesewaters；it’sascommonasdirt；thetraderscarrythemforsurf-boats。ButtheFlyingScud？adeep-watertramp，whowaslime-juicingaroundbetweenbigports，CalcuttaandRangoonand’FriscoandtheCantonRiver？No，Idon’tseeit。”
Wewereleaningoverthegunwaleoftheboataswespoke。
Thecaptainstoodnearestthebow，andhewasidlyplayingwiththetrailingpainter，whenathoughtarrestedhim。Hehauledthelineinhandoverhand，andstared，andremainedstaring，attheend。
“Anythingwrongwithit？”Iasked。
“Doyouknow，Mr。Dodd。”saidhe，inaqueervoice，“thispainter’sbeencut？Asailoralwaysseizesarope’send，butthisisslicedshortoffwiththecoldsteel。Thiswon’tdoatallforthemen。”headded。“JuststandbytillIfixitupmorenatural。”
“Anyguesswhatitallmeans？”Iasked。
“Well，itmeansonething。”saidhe。“ItmeansTrentwasaliar。
IguessthestoryoftheFlyingScudwasasightmorepicturesquethanhegaveout。”
Halfanhourlater，thewhaleboatwaslyingasternoftheNorahCreina；andNaresandIsoughtourbunks，silentandhalf-
bewilderedbyourlatediscoveries。
