Jack turned round, and observed Mesty with his foot on a head which had been blown from the trunk.
“What are you about, Mesty?”
“Massa Easy, I look at dis, and I tink it Massa Vigor’s head, and den I tink dis skull of his enemy nice present make to little Massa Gossett; and den I tink again, and I say, no, he dead and nebber thrash any more—so let him go overboard.”
Jack turned away, forgiving Vigors in his heart, he thought of the petty animosities of a midshipman’s berth, as he looked at the blackened portion of a body, half an hour before possessing intellect.
“Massy Easy,” said Mesty, “I tink you say right, anyhow, when you say forgive: den, Massa Vigors,” continued Mesty, taking up the head by the singed hair, and tossing it out of the port, “you really very bad man—but Ashantee forgive you.”
“Here’s somebody alive,” said Gascoigne to Jack, examining a body, the face of which was black as a cinder and not to be recognised, “and he is one of our men too, by his dress.”
Our hero went up to examine, and to assist Gascoigne in disengaging the body from a heap of ropes and half-burned tarpaulings with which it was entangled. Mesty followed, and looking at the lower extremities said, “Massa Easy, dat Massa Jolliffe, I know him trousers; marine tailor say he patch um for ever, and so old dat de thread no hold; yesterday he had dis patch put in, and marine tailor say he damn if he patch any more, please nobody.”
Mesty was right; it was poor Jolliffe, whose face was burned as black as a coal by the explosion. He had also lost three fingers of the left hand, but as soon as he was brought out on the deck he appeared to recover, and pointed to his mouth for water, which was instantly procured.
“Mesty,” said Jack, “I leave you in charge of Mr Jolliffe; take every care of him till I can come back.”
The investigation was then continued, and four English sailors found who might be expected to recover, as well as about the same number of Frenchmen; the remainder of the bodies were then thrown overboard. The hat only of the master was picked up between the guns, and there were but eleven Frenchmen found below.