“Won’t they, by God? I’ll see to that. Send my clerk here.”
The clerk made his appearance, with an abject bow.
“Mr Powell, sit down, and write as I dictate,” said Captain Bradshaw, who, walking up and down the fore-cabin, composed a memorandum, in which, after a long preamble, the first-lieutenant, master, and surgeon, were directed to dine with him every day, until further orders. Captain Bradshaw, having signed it, sent for the first-lieutenant, and delivered it himself into his hands.
“Ferguson!—Bradly!” cried the first-lieutenant, entering the gun-room, with the paper in his hand, “here’s something for all three of us,—a positive order to dine with the skipper every day, until he gets tired of our company.”
“I’ll be hanged if I do,” replied the surgeon. “I’ll put myself in the sick-list.”
“And if I am obliged to go, I’ll not touch anything,” rejoined the master. “There’s an old proverb, ‘you may lead a horse to the pond, but you can’t make him drink.’”
“Whatever we do,” replied Roberts, the first-lieutenant, “we must act in concert; but I have been long enough in the service to know that we must obey first, and remonstrate afterwards. That this is an unusual order, I grant, nor do I know by what regulations of the service it can be enforced; but at the same time I consider that we run a great risk in refusing to obey it. Only observe, in the preamble, how artfully he inserts ‘appearance of a conspiracy, tending to bring him into contempt;’ and again, ‘for the better discipline of his Majesty’s service, which must invariably suffer when there is an appearance of want of cordiality between those to whom the men must look for example.’ Upon my soul, he’s devilish clever. I do believe he’d find out a reason for drawing out all our double teeth, if he was inclined, and prove it was all for the benefit of his Majesty’s service. Well, now, what’s to be done?”
“Why, what’s your opinion, Roberts?”
“Oh, mine is to go; and if you will act with me, he won’t allow us to dine with him a second time.”
“Well, then, I agree,” replied the surgeon.