“More likely to go out of the world himself than to send another out of it,” replied the surgeon. “He cannot well be worse, and that is all that I can say. He has been raving all night, and I have been obliged to take nearly two pounds of blood from him; and, Mr Keene,” continued the surgeon, “he talks a great deal of you and other persons. You may go in to him, if you please; for I have as much as possible kept the servants away—they will talk.”
“Bob Cross is down below, sir,” replied I: “he is the safest man to wait upon him.”
“I agree with you, Keene—send for him, and he shall remain at his bedside.”
The master then spoke with the surgeon, and communicated my proposition; and the surgeon replied, “Well, from what I have learned this night, there is no person who has so great a right to take his place; and perhaps it will be as well, both for the captain’s sake and his own; at all events, I will go with you, and, in case of accident, do my best.”
The matter was, therefore, considered as arranged, and I went into the captain’s room. He was delirious, and constantly crying out about his honour and disgrace; indeed, there is no doubt but that his anxiety to meet his antagonist was one very great cause of the fever having run so high; but at times he changed the subject, and then he spoke of me and my mother. “Where is my boy—my own boy, Percival?” said he—“my pride—where is he? Arabella, you must not be angry with me—no, Arabella; consider the consequence;” and then he would burst out in such fond expressions towards me, that the tears ran down my cheeks as I planted a kiss upon his forehead; for he was insensible, and I could do so without offence.
Bob Cross, who had for some time been at his bedside, wiped the tears from his eyes, and said, “Master Keene, how this man must have suffered to have cloaked his feelings towards you in the way which he has done. However, I am glad to hear all this, and, if necessary, I will tell him of it—ay, if I get seven dozen for it the next minute.”
I remained with Bob Cross at his bedside for the whole day, during which he more than twenty times acknowledged me as his son. As the evening closed in, I prepared in silence for the duty I had to perform. To the surprise of Cross, who was ignorant of what I intended, I stripped off my own clothes and put on those of the captain, and then put his wig over my own hair. I then examined myself in the glass, and was satisfied.
“Well,” said Cross, looking at me, “you do look like the captain himself, and might almost go on board and read the articles of war; but, surely, Master Keene,” added he, looking at the captain as he lay senseless in bed, “this is no time for foolery of this sort.”
“It is no foolery, Bob,” replied I, taking his hand; “I am going to represent the captain and fight a duel for him, or the service will be disgraced.”
“I didn’t know that the captain had a duel to fight,” replied Bob, “although I heard that there had been words.”