“You felt afraid of death?” said the captain sharply.
“Yes, sir, terribly. It seemed so hard to die when I was so young, but I would not show it.”
“Why, my dear boy,” said the captain enthusiastically, as he clapped Hilary on the shoulder, “you are a braver fellow even than I thought. It takes a very brave man to confess that he was afraid; but don’t you mind this. There was never a man yet in the full burst of health and strength who did not feel afraid to die. But come, we won’t talk any more of that, for here is the admiral’s dock.”
Chapter Forty.
At the Admiral’s.
It was with no little trepidation that Hilary entered the room where the admiral was waiting Captain Charteris’ return, and as soon as he saw that he came with a young companion, the handsome grey-haired old gentleman came forward and shook hands with Hilary warmly.
“I’m glad to see you,” he said. “If you have passed Captain Charteris’s test I know that we have another officer in the service of whom we may well feel proud. At the same time, Mr Leigh, I think we ought to beg your pardon.”
Hilary hardly knew whether he was upon his head or his heels that evening, and it was like a revelation to find how genial and pleasant the reputed stern and uncompromising port-admiral could be. There was an excellent dinner, political matters were strictly tabooed, and the two officers talked a good deal aside. No further allusion was made to the Kestrel till it was time to go on board, a fact of which Hilary reminded the admiral.