“And all his men, darkie.”
“Yes, sah, and all his men. They never come back no more.”
“What is it?” said Murray, coming up. “Have you found out anything more?”
Tom May made an announcement which Murray communicated to the wounded lieutenant, and he had hardly finished when the sound of firing began again.
“What’s that?” cried Mr Anderson, raising himself upon one arm. “There, you needn’t tell me, Murray, lad; I know. It’s the captain attacking, or being attacked by, some of the slaving scoundrels, and we are not there to help him.”
“But surely, sir, we have been helping him by what we have done,” said Murray; and the lieutenant stretched out his hand, wincing and groaning as he did so, and clutched the midshipman’s arm.
“Thank you, my dear boy,” he said; “that does me good. We have been helping him, haven’t we?”
“Why, of course, sir. That explosion has ended in killing the chief slaver, the head of the gang, as well as a terrible number of his wretched followers.”
“So it has, Mr Murray; so it has. Your doing too.”
“Oh no, sir; I only played my part. We did,” said Murray, smiling.