The mate looked at Cap'n Noll Wing; but Noll was eating, he seemed not to have heard. Faith, at her husband's side, said nothing. So Mr. Ham kept out of the discussion. Only he wondered--he was not a discerning man--why Dan'l disliked the newcomer. Brander seemed to Mr. Ham to be a lucky find; they had needed a man, they had found a first-rater. That was his view of the matter. Brander's coming had worked like a leaven among the men. That was patent to every one.... But this was not necessarily a good thing. A dominant man in the fo'c's'le is, if the man be evil, a dangerous matter. The officers rule their men by virtue of the fact that the men are not united. Union among the men against the officers breeds mutiny.... Dan'l said as much, now. "He'll get the men after him like sheep," he said angrily. "Then--look out." "We can handle that," said Mr. Ham. Dan'l grinned. "Aye, that's what is always said--till it is too late to handle them. The man ought to have been left on the beach, where he belonged." Faith said quietly: "I spoke for him. It seems to me he does his work." Dan'l looked up quickly, a retort on his lips; but he remembered himself in time. "I'm wrong," he said frankly. "Brander is a good man. No doubt the whole matter will turn out all right...." Cap'n Wing, finishing his dinner, said fretfully: "There's too much talk of this man. I'm sick of it. Keep an eye on him, Mr. Ham. If he looks sidewise, clip him. But don't talk so much...." The mate nodded seriously. "I'll watch him, sir." Dan'l said: "I've no right to talk against him, sir. No doubt he's all right." Noll shook his great head like a horse that is harassed by a fly. "I tell you I want no more words about him, Mr. Tobey. Be still." He got up and stalked into his cabin. Faith followed him. The officers, one by one, went on deck. Willis, there, came to Dan'l. "You really think he means trouble, Mr. Tobey?" Dan'l smiled. "If he were in my boat, I'd keep an eye peeled," he said. Young Willis Cox set his jaw. "By God, I will that," he swore. Dan'l pointed forward; and Willis looked and saw Brander talking with Mauger, the one-eyed man, by the lee rail. "Mark that," said Dan'l. "They're a chummy pair, those two." Willis frowned. "That's queer, too," he said. "Mauger--he's not much of a man. Why should Brander take up with him, anyhow?" Dan'l smiled, sidewise. "Does Mauger--Is Mauger the captain's man?" he asked. "No. Hates him like death and hell." "And Brander plays up to him...." "Because Mauger hates the Old Man. Is that it?" Willis asked anxiously. "I'm saying no word," protested Dan'l Tobey. "See for yourself, Will." X Roy Kilcup was another who did not like Brander. This was in part a consequence of his position on the _Sally_, in part the result of Dan'l Tobey's skillful tongue. Dan'l saw the tendency in Roy, and capitalized it.