“Hallo!” cried Mr Rimmer, running forward. “What’s the matter now?”
Smith could not speak, but stood with his lips quivering and his eyes round and staring.
“Do you hear?” cried the mate, angrily. “Why don’t you speak?”
The reason was patent to all. The poor fellow could not utter a word, but stood pointing wildly down through the forecastle hatch.
Chapter Forty Four.
A Tongue in a Knot.
Oliver and the mate immediately made a sharp rush for the opening, and the first uttered a cry of astonishment as he got down into the men’s place, for there, dimly seen by the faint light shed by a great disc of glass let into the fore part of the deck and well cemented with pitch, was a man in one of the bunks sleeping heavily, while in a tone indicative of his astonishment, the mate exclaimed,—
“What, Wriggs! You here?”