McGlory took the wheel, and Dick sat by him on the cabin trunk. They went out as they had come in, gaining a rod here and a yard there, as the vagrant night breezes stirred the trees and faintly rippled the water. Up forward the men settled down as quietly as if working out of Burnt Cove after midnight were a part of the daily routine. Dick smoked in silence. The mate alone was nervous. For some reason he seemed as anxious now to get out of the Cove as he had been to get into it. Occasionally his eyes wandered back toward the darker spot where the landing was. Once he seemed to hear something,--they were then in sight of the open lake,--and he swung her off quickly to gain headway. Finally Dick asked:-- “Got another o' your lady friends stowed away up here?” The mate grunted. “Maybe you thought you'd just drop around for a little call. That the idea?” “No, that ain't the idea.” “I didn't know you were a Mormon.” Another grunt. “Case o' temporary mental aberration, perhaps. You thought you owned the schooner. Or maybe you dreamed I was going to give it to you--not for its intrinsic value, but as a token of affection _and_ esteem. That it?” “No, that ain't it, an' you know it ain't.” “Oh, I'm in the secret, am I?” McGlory leaned across the wheel and looked at him. “Are you a-tryin' to make me think you don't know why I come here?” “I certainly am.” “Well, you beat me.” “Then we're in the same condition. It isn't exactly usual, you know, to take another man's schooner off for a summer cruise without asking him if he don't mind. Of course, between friends, it's all right---only there are some little formalities that are customary. But I suppose you aren't going to tell me anything about it--why you did it.” The mate said nothing. They were now slipping out into deep water, where the breeze could fill the sails, and the schooner began to heel and to nose through the ripples with a grateful sound. The light was stronger out here, and the mate could see the Captain's face more plainly. What he saw there answered several questions that lay, unspoken, in his mind. “I 'll take the wheel now,” said Dick. “Hold on, don't you go forward. Wait here till I get through with you.” He raised his voice and called to the others. “Come back here, boys, all o' you.” And when the crew was grouped about the wheel: “Pink, here, is going to be my mate for the rest o' this trip. I want you to take his orders the same as if they were mine. McGlory has nothing more to say on this schooner. That's all.” The men looked at each other. The Swedes were slow to grasp what was said. McGlory stood back in the shadow, and his face told nothing. Harper was excited. “That's all, I tell you. You can go back.” They went at this--all but Pink, who lingered. “Cap'n--” “Well, what is it?” “I was just goin' to say--it's more'n square--you've been more'n white to me--” “Hold on there. You needn't bother about engrossing any resolutions. You 'll find it hard enough.”