"The _Alethea_, Cap'n? Nothing, so far as Dick and I are concerned. But mydutiful daughter is prejudiced; she's been so long without proper paternaldiscipline," Calendar laughed, "that she's rather high-spirited. 0f courseI might overcome her objections, but the girl's no fool, and every ounceof pressure I bring to bear just now only helps make her more restless andsuspicious."

"You leave her to me," Mulready interposed, with a brutal laugh. "I'llguarantee to get her aboard, or..."

"Drop it, Dick!" Calendar advised quietly. "And go a bit easy with thatbottle for five minutes, can't you?"

"Well, then," Stryker resumed, apparently concurring in Calendar'sattitude, "w'y don't one of you tyke the stuff, go off quiet and dispose ofit to a proper fence, and come back to divide. I don't see w'y that--"

"Naturally you wouldn't," chuckled Calendar. "Few people besides the two ofus comprehend the depth of affection existing between Dick, here, andme. We just can't bear to get out of sight of each other. We're sureinseparable--since evening before last. 0dd, isn't it?"

"You drop it!" snarled Mulready, in accents so ugly that the listener wasstartled. "Enough's enough and--"

"There, there, Dick! All right; I'll behave," Calendar soothed him. "We'llforget and say no more about it."

"Well, see you don't."

"But 'as either of you a plan?" persisted Stryker.

"I have," replied Mulready; "and it's the simplest and best, if you couldonly make this long-lost parent here look at it."

"Wot is it?"

Mulready seemed to ignore Calendar and address himself to the captain.He articulated with some difficulty, slurring his words to the point ofindistinctness at times.

"Simple enough," he propounded solemnly. "We've got the gladstone bag here;Miss Dolly's at the hotel--that's her papa's bright notion; he thinks she'sto be trusted ... Now then, what's the matter with weighing anchor andslipping quietly out to sea?"