“I won’t lose much. But that isn’t the point. I expected to reward you for what you have done for me, and now I am not able to do so.”
“I don’t expect any reward, sir.”
“Nevertheless, I shall do what is right.”
“The sloop is worth several hundred dollars. That is more than I deserved.”
“I don’t think so. Every time I think of what might have happened to my wife and my little son I cannot help but shudder. Brown and I ought never to have ventured out without a man to sail the boat. We have learned a lesson that we shall not forget in a hurry.”
“It was a risky thing to do in this wind, sir.”
“It was. But about this reward—”
“I don’t want any reward, sir. The value of the sloop is more than I deserve.”
“Nevertheless, you shall hear from me in the near future.”
On this point Mr. Markham remained firm, and a quarter of an hour later we parted, I hoping that none of the party would suffer any from the involuntary bath.