When we had spoken of these matters, there was much for me to tell the dominie; but as it was too cold for us to stand on the quay, I took him with me aboard the schooner, where I had some advice to ask him regarding my course in reporting the loss of the Pilgrim to the underwriters. Seated in the cabin I told him my adventure, and showed him all the books and papers I had taken from the barque before she went down. He gave me what simple instruction I required, and offered to help me in preparing my report for Lloyd's agent. With this purpose in view I permitted Mr. Drever to take the log book ashore with him, as well as the little chest that I had taken from the captain's room on board the Pilgrim. I was pushing off from the pier, having put the dominie ashore, when I heard myself called, and there, at the head of the piers stood my skipper, Davie Flett, newly arrived from Kirkwall. How thankful I was to see his familiar stumpy figure again I need not say. He was coming down towards me when Carver Kinlay accosted him, and kept him in conversation. But I approached the two men, taking Flett by the hand. He gave little notice to me beyond a very ordinary greeting; but I saw by his eyes that he was glad enough to see me, only that he probably had some business to talk over with the pilot. I stood by them, wishing they would be done. "And how's business in the islands, Davie?" said Kinlay in an offhand tone. "Fairly weel! fairly weel!" said the captain. "Nothing to complain o', ye ken." "Ay, I see!" said Carver; "no sae weel but ye might do better, eh? I'm thinkin', Davie, ye need to open up a new line o' business among the crofters." "Ah! and what business is that, pilot?" asked Flett. "Oh, I dinna just ken that, but ye canna aye sail on the same tack. Now, supposin', for instance, ye were to start something in the liquor line. Ye have grand facilities for that, have ye not?" "I'll not deny that I have the facilities," observed Flett, with a curious twinkle in his eye. "But ye see, pilot, there's no demand for liquor in the islands. What for would I tak' spirits to the crofters when the poor folk canna more than pay for their bannocks?" "Why, man alive, ye can surely make a demand? Just carry a good supply of spirits in yer schooner, and I warrant ye'll do a grand trade." "Ye're maybe no far wrang there," said Davie thoughtfully. "But then, there's another difficulty, pilot; where will the spirits come from?" "Why, man," said Kinlay, lowering his voice, "that's just the simplest part o' the whole business. Think ye that no whisky comes into Stromness forbye what gangs to Oliver Gray's? Why, man, if it came to that, I could undertake to supply ye mysel' on the most easy terms." "Ay, like enough," returned Flett, with a look in his face that Carver did not observe. "Like enough--excise paid, of course?" "Oh! we needna say anything about the excise, Davie," said the pilot, looking uneasy. "What does't matter about the excise?"