“Not that we ain’t got our share of ignorant fools, the ones who was taken in by Phineas. Phineas, he’s a little bit crazy and a whole lot lazy, and he’s got an imagination. One day, his craziness got together with his laziness and the two of ’em had a talk with his imagination, and he figured out a way to make him some spendin’ money without havin’ to work for it. Only part of his story is true is the part about takin’ in that poor gal. Phineas has got a heart, I’ll say that for him, more heart than I got. So what is it you need done? Phineas wasn’t too clear on that.”

Nathaniel took him forward and showed him and made sure to let him know that Talmadge had promised that his charges would be reasonable.

“Compared to what they charge in Beaufort, sure,” he said. “About your sails, there’s a sailmaker over to Beaufort, name of Geslin. Frenchy, we call him. He’s about as friendly as a cottonmouth, but he charges reasonable, too.”

Kincaid studied the foremast with a canny, calculating look, then ran his hands along the main boom and gave a low whistle.

“This here’s Sitka spruce. You boys millionaires or did you steal this here yacht?”

Taken aback, Nathaniel hesitated before answering that they were neither millionaires nor pirates. His mind turned this way and that for an explanation of how four teenage boys had come into possession of so fine a vessel. If Kincaid knew that it belonged to their father, he might feel free to demand every dollar they had.

“We’re in the salvage business, and we’ve got our first job waiting for us down in Florida,” he said, hoping his overly expressive face did not betray him. “We picked up this schooner a year ago, my brothers and me and our buddy. Went for a song, it was about ready for the break-up yard. We put every dime we had in her and all our labor, too, and got her shipshape.”

“Son, when you’re fibbin’, it’s best to keep it short,” Kincaid said sternly, but with a twinkle of forgiveness. “This don’t look like a salvage vessel to me, and even if it was, ain’t nobody but a millionaire gonna fit her out with Alaskan Sitka masts and spars, when good old pine will do just as well and at half the cost. Now, why don’t y’all tell me the truth, so’s I know who and what I’m dealin’ with here.”