“We’ll share an’ share alike in everything,� answered Glibby. “Am I right, mates?�
“Right you are,� came from the deep voices of the men.
“Aye,� said Glibby, “ship an’ treasure, an’—er—� with a frightful leer—“woman!�
God! How I longed to clutch him by his throat and choke him! My temper rose again, but this time, as before, I managed to keep it down though with immense difficulty, as you may suspect.
“Come out into the cabin, Mr. Hampdon,� said Glibby with a certain complacent civility in his manner which he doubtless meant to be engaging, but for which I hated him the more if possible, “an’ we’ll talk it over.�
“Wait,� said I. “Who is in command of you?�
“Why, Mr. Pimball, the bo’s’n, he’ll be in charge of the ship,� answered Glibby.
“Very good,� I said, “I must talk with him about the future. Do you go on deck, Glibby, and send Pimball below and he and I with the rest of you will soon settle this matter.�
“All right,� answered the boatswain’s mate, turning to the companionway. “Pimball can talk, him an’ you can come to terms, I make no doubt.�
Now I couldn’t allow myself to hesitate for the thousandth part of a second. They say when a woman hesitates she is lost, but in a situation like mine the man who hesitated would have been lost, too. Ostentatiously again I shoved one pistol into the belt that hung at my right side, the other I dropped carelessly into the pocket of my coat, and as Glibby clattered up the ladder, I walked fearlessly, to all appearances, out of the berth and into the cabin, the men giving back respectfully enough to leave me gangway.