“Do you refer that observation to me, Mr Swinburne?” said a voice from under the bulwark. I started round, and found the captain, who had crept upon deck, unperceived by us, during our conversation.
Swinburne made no reply, but touched his hat, and walked over to leeward.
“I presume, Mr Simple,” said the captain, turning to me, “that you consider yourself justified in finding fault, and abusing your captain, to an inferior officer, on His Majesty’s quarter-deck.”
“If you heard the previous conversation, sir,” replied I, “you must be aware that we were speaking generally about court-martials. I do not imagine that I have been guilty of any impropriety in conversing with an officer upon points connected with the service.”
“You mean then to assert, sir, that the gunner did not refer to me when he said the words, ‘spy captain.’”
“I acknowledge, sir, that as you were listening unperceived, the term might appear to refer to you; but the gunner had no idea, at the time, that you were listening. His observation was, that a spy captain would always find spy followers. This I take to be a general observation; and I am sorry that you think otherwise.”
“Very well, Mr Simple,” said Captain Hawkins—and he walked down the companion ladder into his cabin.
“Now a’n’t it odd, Mr Simple, that I should come with the intention of being of service to you, and yet get you into such a scrape? However, perhaps, it is all for the best; open war is preferable to watching in the dark, and stabbing in the back. He never meant to have shown his colours; but I hit him so hard that he forgot himself.”
“I suspect that to be the case, Swinburne; But I think that you had better not talk any more with me to-night.”
“Wish I hadn’t talked quite so much, as things have turned out,” replied Swinburne. “Good night, sir.”