“That’s just like a woman,” said Ralph.  “I might have expected it.”

During the rest of that day and the morning of the next, everybody in the camp worked hard and did what could be done to help the captain prepare for his voyage, and even Ralph, figuratively speaking, put his hand to the oar.

The boat was provisioned for a long voyage, though the captain hoped to make a short one, and at noon he announced that he would set out late that afternoon.

“It will be flood-tide, and I can get away from the coast better then than if the tide were coming in.”

“How glad I should be to hear you speak in that way,” said Mrs. Cliff, “if we were only going with you!  But to be left here seems like a death sentence all around.  You may be lost at sea while we perish on shore.”

“I do not expect anything of the sort!” exclaimed Edna.  “With Ralph and two men to defend us, we can stay here a long time.  As for the captain’s being lost, I do not think of it for a moment.  He knows how to manage a boat too well for that.”

“I don’t like it at all!  I don’t like it at all!” exclaimed Mrs. Cliff.  “I don’t expect misfortunes any more than other people do, but our common sense tells us they may come, and we ought to be prepared for them.  Of course, you are a good sailor, captain, but if it should happen that you should never come back, or even if it should be a very long time before you come back, how are we going to know what we ought to do?  As far as I know the party you leave behind you, we would all be of different opinions if any emergency arose.  As long as you are with us, I feel that, no matter what happens, the right thing will be done.  But if you are away—­”

At this moment Mrs. Cliff was interrupted by the approach of Maka, who wished very much to speak to the captain.  As the negro was not a man who would be likely to interrupt a conversation except for an important reason, the captain followed him to a little distance.  There he found, to his surprise, that although he had left one person to speak to another, the subject was not changed.

“Cap’n,” said Maka, “when you go ’way, who’s boss?”

The captain frowned, and yet he could not help feeling interested in this anxiety regarding his successor.  “Why do you ask that?” he said.  “What difference does it make who gives you your orders when I am gone?”

Maka shook his head.  “Big difference,” he said.  “Cheditafa don’ like boy for boss.  He wan’ me tell you, if boy is boss, he don’ wan’ stay.  He wan’ go ’long you.”

“You can tell Cheditafa,” said the captain, quickly, “that if I want him to stay he’ll stay, and if I want him to go he’ll go.  He has nothing to say about that.  So much for him.  Now, what do you think?”

“Like boy,” said Maka, “but not for boss.”

The captain was silent for a moment.  Here was a matter which really needed to be settled.  If he had felt that he had authority to do as he pleased, he would have settled it in a moment.