The name in the ledger

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

Elias reached the quay as the final crates were being lifted aboard. Captain Rowe watched from the deck while Elias set down his sea chest. Neither man mentioned the argument that had separated them in the spring. The captain opened the ship’s ledger, struck through the word ‘vacant’ on the crew list and wrote Elias’s name in its place. He then returned to checking the cargo. Elias carried his chest up the gangplank.

Captain Rowe gives Elias no greeting. Identify the words in the extract that reveal his decision to take Elias back into the crew.