down my throat, an'
I notice none of 'em tried. It's all idle talk, that's all; an' there
ain't a soul that can prove a single thing against you, even
cowardice. An' that's more'n can be said o' some men in this
village."

Code was grateful, and he said so. It was something to find a friend
so stanch and loyal that suspicion had never even found soil in his
mind where it might take root. Two such he had now: Elsa Mallaby and
Bijonah Tanner.

"What else did those men say?" he asked in conclusion.

"If I remember right, an' I was perfectly clear at the time, this is
what one said: 'Fellers,' sez 'e to the other two, 'e sez--'fellers,
that young Captain Schofield in Freekirk Head is goin' on the rocks,
or I don't hear what's goin' on in my office.'

"'Then they're goin' to sue him to recover part of his insurance on
the old schooner _May Schofield_?' asks the second.

"'If I didn't hear the chief say that this mornin' you can shoot me on
sight!' the first answers. An' then for a while I couldn't hear any
more, an' you can bet I was watchin' the door somethin' awful for fear
ma would come in an' spoil it all by draggin' me off."

"But who were these men?" asked Code. "Whom did they mean by the
chief?"

"I was just gettin' to that. After a while, from a little bit here an'
a little there, I made out that the first young feller was private
secretary to the president of the Marine Insurance Company. That's
the firm that carried the old _May_, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. They've got my _Rosan_, too, though I wish mightily now
that they hadn't. This feller is the private secretary to the
president, an' the other two are clerks or something in the office.
They may have been up to something crooked, and then again they may
have just been talkin' things over as young fellers often do when
they're interested in their work. Anyway, there's enough in what they
said to set you thinkin', I cal'late."

"Yes," said Code slowly and grimly, "it is. I've only known that the
island was talking since last night, and now I find St. John's is,
too. It's spreading pretty fast, it seems; and I wonder where it will
end?" He pondered silently for a while.

"If they sue to recover, what'll you do?" ventured Tanner hesitatingly.

"God knows!" answered Schofield and laughed bitterly. "I haven't got a
thing on earth but the _Charming Lass_, an' this year I haven't caught
enough fish to pay for my new mains'l. My credit is still go