"Where is this Dibble?"
"He has just gone below. I will call him."
"Don't do that; it might excite suspicion. These men are undoubtedly on the watch. Talk to him in the forecastle. I will wait here until you return."
I agreed; and left at once. I found the old sailor sitting on a chest, mending some clothing.
"Say, Dibble, what kind of a cargo have we on board?" I asked.
He looked at me rather curiously.
"What makes you ask that question?"
"Because I wanted to know."
"Well," he replied slowly, "we're supposed to have fine furniture and crockery ware on board; but it's so packed up I didn't see any of it."
"Did you help load?"
"Oh, no; the longshoremen did everything. Kind of queer, too, for Captain Hannock generally gets all the work out of his men that he can."
"Then you didn't see any of the furniture or the crockery?"
"No. But what difference does it make? We sail just as well as if we had lumber or steam engines on board."
"It makes a great difference. Let me tell you something."
