XIX
One-eyed Mauger sought out Brander three days later. Brander had been decent to him from the beginning; and Mauger, who had been changed from a venomous and evil thing into a cacklingly cheerful nonentity by Noll Wing's blow and kick, repaid Brander with a devotion almost inhuman. He sought out Brander three days later.... That is to say, he made occasion, during the work of scrubbing up after Noll's last whale, to come to Brander's feet; and while he toiled at the planking of the deck there, he looked up at the fourth mate and nodded significantly.
Brander understood the one-eyed man; he asked: "What's wrong, Mauger?" His tone was friendly.
Mauger chuckled mirthlessly, deprecatingly. "Don't want you should git mad," he protested.
Brander shook his head, his eyes sobering. "Of course not. What is it?"
"There's chatter, forward," said Mauger. "They're talking dirt."
Brander's voice fell. "Who?"
"Slatter was th' first. Others now. Dirt."
Brander looked about the deck; there was no one within hearing. He asked quietly: "What kind of dirt?"