The captain seemed to understand him perfectly well; but he shook his head gravely.
“‘It wouldn’t do, Mr. Bright—it wouldn’t do.’
“‘But nothing would ever come of it, sir. Suppose we should take the fellow with the French colours flying, do you really think any complaint would ever reach the French government?’
“The captain still shook his head.
“‘I don’t know about that, Mr. Bright,’ he said; ‘but I don’t like to do it. The thing would be unprecedented. It’s too bad, too, with the nigger right here in our hands, and we are not at liberty to take hold of him,’ and he strode off towards his cabin.
“Yet the lieutenant’s idea seemed still to be working in his mind, for just as he was about to disappear he called out again, ‘Mr. Bright, you may as well shake out an extra rag or two and keep the scoundrel in sight.’ Then he vanished down the stairs muttering something about his extreme curiosity to behold a cursed ‘nigger’ who could get away from the ‘Excellent’ when her blood was up.
“So we loitered along after the schooner with what little wind there was, and after breakfast we were surprised by an order coming into the steerage, summoning all the commissioned officers, even of lowest rank, to the captain’s cabin.
“We went aft in a hurry and found all assembled around the cabin table, except Mr. Bright, who was still in charge of the deck. Captain Hodge stood at the head of the table. We waited for him to speak.
“‘Gentlemen,’ he began, ‘please fill your glasses. And now here’s to the honour and success of the old “Excellent.”’
“We drank the toast with great enthusiasm. Then he went on: ‘Gentlemen, it is too bad, it is outrageous, the way things are at present. Here have we been cruising up and down here all summer long and hardly a prize to show for it.