"Chips aboard?" he asked, meaning, "Is the carpenter on board?"
"Yes," I said. "Will you come aboard?"
He did not answer, but looked about the ship, as though making
notes of everything. Presently he turned to me.
"You're new," he said. "Are you Mr. Jermyn's boy?" I told him
that I was.
"How is Mr. Jermyn keeping?" he asked. "Is that cough of his
better?" This made me feel that probably the man knew Mr. Jermyn.
"Yes," I said. "He's got no cough, now." "He'd a bad one last
time he was here," the man answered. For a while he kept silent.
He seemed to me to be puzzling out the relative heights of our
masts. Suddenly he turned to me, with a very natural air. "How's
Mr. Scott's business going?" he asked. "You know, eh? You know
what I mean?" I was taken off my guard. I'm afraid I hesitated,
though I knew that the man's sharp eyes noted every little change
on my face. Then, in the most natural way, the man reassured me.
"You know," he said. "What demand for oranges in London?" I was
thankful that he had not meant the other business. I said with a
good deal too much of eagerness that there was, I believed, a big
demand for oranges. "Yes," he said, "I suppose so many young boys
makes a brisk demand." I was uneasy at the man's manner. He
seemed to be pumping me, but he had such a natural easy way,
under the pale mask of his face, that I could not be sure if he
were in the secret or not. I was on my guard now, ready for any
question, as I thought, but eager for an excuse to get away from
this man before I betrayed any trust.
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