“Am I not to remain on board the yacht? It is customary.”
“In this case it will be best not to do anything of the kind. We have no cook, and each fellow waits upon himself.”
“We would rather you stayed on shore,” Ned replied, and this time he spoke so decidedly that the interpreter could do no less than take his departure.
Ned repeated the conversation to his friends, both of whom were in the kitchen, when he went below, and Roy asked curiously:
“Why is it you were opposed to his staying on board? I think it might be rather nice, for he could tell us all about the city and would be on hand when the machinists arrive.”
“I don’t think it is safe,” was the emphatic reply, which caused his companions to stare at him in surprise.
“I don’t know as there would be any; but it surely can’t be wrong to take precautions, even though some of them may be foolish. I noticed a queer look on that fellow’s face when you showed him the gold, and you must remember that he talked about piratical treasure as if he expected you to tell him where we got what you sold. Now look at the matter squarely: You carry on shore, after saying we were wrecked on a key, a lot of old coins such as have been found around here. It isn’t likely you would have taken such money from home, consequently every person who sees it must at once come to the correct conclusion. That being the case, don’t you think there would be people enough in this city who would risk an encounter with three boys for the sake of learning whether there were any more of those ancient gold-pieces on board?”
“You’re right!” Roy exclaimed, a startled look coming into his eyes, and Vance added:
“How do we know but that the interpreter or his friends wouldn’t attempt the job?”
“That was exactly why I didn’t want him on board at night, and the reason of my buying these,” Ned replied as he opened the package, exposing the weapons to view. “I propose that we keep our eyes open pretty wide, not only while we remain in port, but until we can put the treasure in a safer place. This yacht and her cargo would be such a prize as might tempt very many men to turn pirates for the time being.”
“You’ve got a mighty level head,” Vance added approvingly, “and I say as I did when we were on the key, that we will recognize you as the skipper of this craft.”