"A youth and a fat man!" he ejaculated. "And unwilling at that, so Bones tells me."
"Master Bones was correct in that statement," my great-uncle assented cheerfully; "but I fancy he neglected to add that the 'fat man' took his knife away from him and must have hanged him had I not intervened."
An appreciable degree of respect dawned in Flint's eyes.
"He is no butter-tub if he bested Bill," conceded the Walrus' captain. "Curse me, though, if I see why you should add a cub to your crew."
"Tut, tut, captain," remonstrated Murray. "'A cub!' Think again. The boy is my heir."
"All he'll fall heir to will be the rope that hung you," returned Flint. "But I'll own I did you wrong when I accused you of being but two men the better by your shore expedition. I was forgetting the red-headed mascot John Silver fetched aboard. 'Tis the first promise o' luck we ha' had! I'd never have lost that Philadelphia packet t' other day with him aboard."
"I believe I overheard something of a dispute with Martin on that point," commented my great-uncle dryly. "He obeyed my orders in calling you off, and you broke our agreement when you would have given chase."
"And why not?" roared Flint. "A —— —— fool agreement, if you broach it now! A —— —— of a —— —— piece of —— —— —— idiocy! Curse me for a lubber if I see the sense in letting a fat prize slip through our fingers. And so I told Martin. Let me have him on my deck, and I'd use my hanger to him."
My uncle took snuff with much delicacy and rang a silver bell in front of him.
"Gunn is late with the liquor. I must ask your indulgence, captain, for compelling you to talk dry. But as to Martin and the prize. Indeed, you wrong the good fellow. As I have already said, he did no more than carry out my orders, and while you may experience difficulty in comprehending my reasons for stipulating that no prizes were to be taken in my absence, I am so vain as to suppose that a few moments' conversation will clear all doubts from your mind."