“No, Ready; I never could have managed her so skilfully as you did, and therefore I must have been swamped before I got on shore.”
“Well, William, as I am an old sailor and you are not, therefore it is not vanity which makes me say that you could not have managed the boat so well as I did. Now, as I had not three or four seconds to spare, you, as you say, must have been swamped. I mention this to prove to you that I was right in desiring your father to order you back.”
“Certainly, Ready; but Tommy is my brother, and I felt that it was more my duty than yours to risk my life for him.”
“A very proper feeling, William; but you have other duties, which are, to look after your father and mother, and be a comfort and solace to them. Your life is more valuable than mine. I am an old man on the brink of the grave, and a year or two makes no difference, but your life is, I hope, of more consequence.”
That evening the prayers were more than usually solemn, and the thanksgivings more heartfelt and sincere. Exhausted with the exciting scene of the day, they all retired early to bed.
Chapter Fifty Nine.
When Tommy was questioned on the following morning as to his inducement to get into the boat, to their great surprise he replied, that he wanted to go round to the tents again, to see if the bananas were ripe; that he intended to eat some of them and be back before dinner-time, that he might not be found out.
“I suspect, Tommy, you would have been very hungry before you ate any bananas if we had not perceived you,” said Ready.