“That it is the best thing to be done; only we’ll watch together, Tom, and rest.”
“Not you go to sleep, sir?” said Tom dubiously.
“I could not sleep, Tom. We’ll talk in whispers about the blacks’ meeting and what they were planning to do.”
“Very well, sir.—What say, Billy? No, no! No answering, my lad. You’ll be telling the niggers where we are. You’ve got to lie down, for it arn’t your watch.—That’s the way.—Now, Mr Murray, sir, you let your one down easy. That’s the way, sir—close up together. It’ll keep ’em right, and p’raps ward off the fever. Now you and I sit down and have our palaver. I should say let’s sit on ’em as soon as they’re asleep, but I s’pose you wouldn’t like to sit on Mr Roberts.”
“Oh no, of course not,” said the midshipman.
“All right, sir; you think it wouldn’t be fair to your messmate, but it would, for it would keep him warm. But I shall do as you do, sir; or let’s try t’other way.”
“What other way, Tom?”
“Sit up close to one another, back to back; then I warms you and you warms me, and that keeps away the chill. You gets a bit tired after a time and feels ready to droop for’ard on to your nose, but when that comes on you can hook elbers, and that holds you upright.—Now then, sir, how’s that? Right? Wait a minute; let’s have a listen. Three cheers for well-boxed ears!”
The big sailor sat upright and listened intently for a few minutes, before he whispered—
“I can just hear the beetles crawling about among the dead leaves and things, sir, and seeming to talk to one another in their way, but I can’t hear no niggers coming arter us. Strange thing, arn’t it, sir, that one set o’ blacks should take to capturing another set o’ blacks and selling ’em into slavery? Them’s a savage lot as that Huggins has got together, and it strikes me as we shall find ’em reg’lar beggars to fight if it’s all right as Master See-saw says about their manning his ships. So far as I could make out he’s got schooners manned with white ruffians as well as black blacks, and all as bad as bad can be.”