“Do you, sir? Then let’s have it,” he said gruffly.
“There was a great mistake made,” I cried.
“Seems like it, sir.”
“And, yes,” I continued, “I know Barney went to sleep at the wheel.”
“That’s a lie!” he rapped out. “Leastwise, I beg your pardon, sir; I mean I arn’t the sort o’ man to go to sleep on duty.”
“No, no; of course not, Barney,” I said piteously; “but you did, and Bob Hampton and Neb Dumlow came and laid down on the deck, and I saw it all, and heard it, and, oh dear, oh dear! what a terrible mess!”
“Arn’t he going off his head, matey?” whispered Dumlow; but I heard him.
“No, no, man; it’s all coming back now. You don’t know, but you must now; it was a plan to give the mutineers stuff to send them all to sleep, and it was changed and given to us instead.”
“Beg pardon, sir,” said Bob Hampton; “but hadn’t you better lie down and go to sleep again?”
“Why, Bob?”