"He is dead," he said briefly. He came around by Colonel Bright, and assisted him to his feet.
"Better come to your own cabin, sir," he suggested.
"Come, boys," said Colonel Bright. Then to the surgeon, and the purser: "I am merely scratched. I do not need further assistance. See you can't do something further for that poor fellow." He turned and, followed by the boys, walked slowly down the passage to his own large, comfortable cabin, where he dropped wearily into a chair, and with a gesture directed the boys to remove his tunic. No one spoke until he had been partly undressed, and had laid down on the bunk.
"Well, boys," he said then, with the little twinkling smile they loved, "I certainly was born lucky! I suppose you are both simply bursting to know what has happened, and I don't blame you. I want to say first of all, though, that you have shown a great deal of discretion; a great deal of discretion indeed."
The boys looked wildly at each other. They were not very strong on long words, and while they were sure that they were being praised, they were not sure just exactly what discretion meant. Beany simpered and let it go at that; Porky mumbled, "Much obliged."
Colonel Bright pulled his torn shirt over the spot on his broad shoulder where a wad of absorbent cotton and a lot of crisscrossed surgeon's plaster marked the slight wound. He moved the shoulder curiously. "That will be stiff for a couple of days, I suppose, but that is all there will be to it. Nothing but a scratch. Did you see the man go overboard, boys?"
"Yes, sir, we did," said Porky; "but we didn't see who it was.
Was it any one we knew? We saw the Captain shoot him."
"Yes," said Beany of the eagle eye, "it made me feel funny, somehow. The Captain shot quick. Just bing! and the bullet hit him, about an inch above the back of his neck just a shade to the left of the middle of his head."
"Close enough to keep him down below until the day of judgment," said the Colonel, sighing. "So you didn't see his face? Well, boys, if you had, you would have seen a familiar countenance. It was our second mate; and a spy!"
"What?" cried both boys, startled at the words and tone.