yacht, he said hesitatingly:--

"I see you remember me, sir. But if it's all the same to you, I've got a
good berth here and would like to keep it."

The consul had a flash of memory. It was the boatswain of the
Skyscraper, one of the least objectionable of the crew. "But what are
you doing here? you shipped for the voyage," he said sharply.

"Yes, but I got away at Key West, when I knew what was coming. I wasn't
on her when she was abandoned."

"Abandoned!" repeated the consul. "What the d---l! Do you mean to say she
was wrecked?"

"Well, yes--you know what I mean, sir. It was an understood thing. She
was over-insured and scuttled in the Bahamas. It was a put-up job, and I
reckoned I was well out of it."

"But there was a passenger! What of him?" demanded the consul anxiously.

"Dnnno! But I reckon he got away. There wasn't any of the crew lost that
I know of. Let's see, he was an engineer, wasn't he? I reckon he had to
take a hand at the pumps, and his chances with the rest."

"Does Mr. Gray know of this?" asked the consul after a pause.

The man stared.

"Not from me, sir. You see it was nothin' to him, and I didn't care