Chapter Thirty One.
Getting Warm.
The men were in high glee, and, had they not been checked, would have sent the boat spinning up the river, in their delight to escape from the monotony of harbour-life, and the natural love there is in Englishmen for a bit of sport.
“Steady, my lads,” said Mr Brooke quietly. “Just give her headway, and back water the moment I speak.”
I did not hear what one of the men whispered to his messmate, but I saw his face as he leaned forward, and it certainly suggested to me that he said—
“They mean some of the tame ducks to make sure.”
“No, we do not, my man,” said Mr Brooke, and I stared at him in astonishment, that he should have taken the same idea as I had.
The man coloured through his tan, and Mr Brooke; said in a low voice to me—