Page:The Secret of the Caves.djvu/123

"You're landlubbers, eh?"

"I suppose so," admitted Frank, with a smile.

"Well, we can't all be sailors. It isn't often people come to see me."

"Do you live here?" asked Joe, indicating the cave.

"This is where I live when I'm ashore. I'm resting up between cruises just now."

The old man sat down on the sand and fanned himself with the straw hat, for it was a warm morning and the sun was strong. The boys looked at him curiously. In spite of his garb, he did not look like a sea-faring man; his skin was tanned, it is true, but it was not the deep, mahogany tan of one who has lived for years in many climes. His voice was high-pitched and his expression was mild. But the boys were old enough to know that one cannot always judge by appearances.

"What are your names?" asked the old man.

The lads introduced themselves.

"Glad to meet you," returned Captain Royal. "It ain't often I have visitors. I get used to being alone."

"It's lonely enough here," agreed Frank.

"It isn't bad. Not half as lonely as the time I got marooned in the South Seas."

The boys looked at him with new interest.

"You were marooned?"