“Thank you,” Jack answered, politely. “We’ve never either of us tasted the
stuff, and we don’t care to begin.”

“Drop into the drug-store and have a cigar, then?”

“We don’t smoke, either, thank you,” came from Hal.

“You young men are rather hard to entertain in a place like this,” sighed
the stranger, but his eyes twinkled.

“We are just as grateful for the intention,” Jack assured him.

“Tell you what I can do, gentlemen,” proposed the stranger, suddenly. “I
might invite you down to my shack for a little while, and show you my
books and some models of yachts and ships that I’ve been collecting. I’m
quite proud of my collection in that line. Won’t you come?”

Anything in the line of yacht or ship-models interested both of these
sea-loving boys from the shipyard at Dunhaven. Jack graciously accepted
the invitation for them both.

“And, though I have no soda fountain,” continued the bearded one, “I can
offer you some soft drinks. I always keep some about the place.”

“How do you come to be living in a place like this, if I’m not too
inquisitive?” queried Benson, as the three strolled down the street.

“Doctor’s orders,” replied the bearded one. “So I’ve rented the best old
shack I could get here, down by the water. I spend a good deal of my time