"Blob!"
That Dermott should return empty-handed from any kind of chase was so surprising that we all turned round for the explanation. Dermott was looking very dejected. This was evidently a blow to his professional pride.
"Didn't any of that great pack come near you?" asked the Admiral sympathetically.
"No—don't think so," said Dermott shortly.
I had counted eight birds flying straight over his butt myself, but I said nothing. I was beginning to comprehend. Et ego in Arcadia vixi.
But the obtuse master-mariner persisted.
"How about that brace that flew right down the line? You must have seen 'em coming all the way. You didn't even try a shot at them, man!"
Dermott, who was fastening up his gaiter, answered rather listlessly—
"Sorry! It was—a misfire, I think."
"What?" cried the outraged Admiral. "A misfire? Both barrels—of both guns?"