The captain changed one of the nails from one hand into the other.
“You, McCarthy, what did you say to Higgins?”
“I said nothing, sir.”
“Lie number two.”
The captain looked from one to the other with his piercing eyes, and then, almost without a movement of preparation, his bare fists shot out to left and right, and the men dropped where they stood like knackered beeves.
It had all come so suddenly that the crew, at least those who had been watching, were held spellbound in astonishment. Even Mr. Jarvis looked frightened, and gazed at his superior officer, wondering if he had lost his senses.
“Here, pick these men up, some of you, and put them on their feet,” ordered Conyngham sternly.
Half dazed, the two men were propped against the railing.
“What are you doing aboard this vessel?”