Tod having his high, waterproof boots on, tramped along the edge of the incoming surf, the half-circles of suds swashing past his feet and spreading themselves up the slope.

The sand was wet here and harder on that account, and the walking better.

The Swede took the inside course nearer the shore.

Soon Tod began to realize that the interest the captain had shown in the unknown man and the brief order admitting him for a time to membership in the crew placed the stranger on a different footing.

He was, so to speak, a comrade and, therefore, entitled to a little more courtesy.
This clear in his mind, he allowed his tongue more freedom; not that he had any additional interest in the man--he only meant to be polite.
"What you been workin' at ?" he asked, kicking an empty tin can that the tide had rolled within his reach.