"You've put me clean, out of reckonin'. Never bin to sea, you say?
Wot's yer name?"
"King, Richard King."
"Damme, I'm comin' to like you. You're a bit of a charak-ter. By the
time the _Aphrodite_ points her nose home again I'll 'ave you licked
into shape."
They were crossing the saloon, and were sufficiently noteworthy by
force of contrast to draw many eyes. Indeed, were Baron von Kerber on
board, he must have been disagreeably impressed by the fact that in
sending the short skipper and the long second mate of the _Aphrodite_
to Marseilles in company he had supplied an unfailing means of tracking
their movements. Of course, he was not responsible for the chance that
threw them together, but the mere presence of two such men on the same
vessel would be remembered quite easily by those who make it their
business to watch trans-Channel passengers.
Royson gave no thought to this factor in the queer conditions then
shaping his life. Had Stump remained taciturn, it might have occurred
to him that they were courting observation.
Pages:
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74