From this slight the ship-keeper drew a conclusion unfavourable to the strange girl.

He gave them time to get down on the wharf before crossing the deck to steal one more look at the pair over the rail.

The captain took hold of the girl's arm just before a couple of railway trucks drawn by a horse came rolling along and hid them from the ship- keeper's sight for good.
Next day, when the chief mate joined the ship, he told him the tale of the visit, and expressed himself about the girl "who had got hold of the captain" disparagingly.

She didn't look healthy, he explained.

"Shabby clothes, too," he added spitefully.
The mate was very much interested.