“What do you think about it?” said Buckland to Bush.
“I’d like to think it over, sir,” replied Bush.
Hornblower came in again while they were still considering the matter. He glanced at them both before addressing himself to Buckland.
“Will you be needing me again tonight, sir?”
“Oh, damn it, you’d better stay. You know more about these Dagoes than we do. What do you think about it?”
“He made some good arguments, sir.”
“I thought so too,” said Buckland with apparent relief.
“Can’t we turn the thumbscrews on them somehow, sir?” asked Bush.
Even if he could not make suggestions himself, he was too cautious to agree readily to a bargain offered by a foreigner, even such a tempting one as this.
“We can bring the ship up the bay,” said Buckland. “But the channel’s tricky. You saw that yesterday.”