“Who said I stopped down too long?” said Dutch faintly, as Hester crouched at his head, with her hands to her face.
“I did,” growled Rasp. “You shouldn’t have overdone it the first time.”
“I did not stay down too long,” said Dutch angrily, but in rather a feeble way. “The supply of air was stepped.”
“What!” cried Rasp, fiercely.
“I say the wind was stopped.”
“Hark at him,” cried Rasp, looking round from one to the other. “Hark at that, Mister Parkley, and you, too, captain. Why, I sooperintended it all myself, and the supply never stopped for a moment.”
Hester shuddered.
“Here he goes and overdoes it, gets fightin’ sharks, and stopping down about twiced as long as he should the first time, and then says the pumping was checked.”
“You must have got the tube kinked,” said Dutch, sitting up. “Take off these weights.”
“You must, you mean,” said Rasp, unhooking the leaden pads from breast and back; and while he was so engaged Hester looked wildly round in a desperate resolve to tell all, but her eyes dropped directly as she shuddered, for just at her husband’s feet stood Lauré, and she felt that she dare not tell the secret that seemed to be driving her mad.