“No, Tom,” replied the middy; “but this fighting in the dark is very horrible all the same.”
“Well, I dunno, sir. ’Tarn’t nice, of course; but ’tarn’t our fault, and wherever we’ve left one o’ them black or white slaver chaps a bit sore on the nat’ral deck yonder you may say as he desarves all he’s got.”
Murray made no reply, for he had stopped short for a few moments to listen; and finding this, the big sailor followed his example.
“Hear ’em coming, sir?”
“No, Tom; I thought I did, but all seems quite still again. Here, I wish you’d listen. I don’t know how it is, but you seem to hear much more plainly than I can.”
Tom chuckled.
“Well, what is there to laugh at in what I said?”
“Oh, I dunno, sir, on’y it sounded rum to me.”
“What did, sir?”
“You saying you couldn’t hear so plain as I can.”