"If you would go with us," he said, sitting by Belmonte's side, and speaking in the soft, well bred tones which were special to him, "you should be very welcome, I assure you, sir; and I do not say this as a sailor speaking to one who has by chance fallen into his hands, so to put it, but as an old man to a--to a young one; for, sir, I have children myself, some young as you, some older; have sons and--and daughters, and I should be most grateful to all who would be kind to them."
Now, as he spoke thus there became visible in Señor Juan another trait of character which I had scarce looked to see, it proving him to be a youth of great susceptibility. For, as the admiral made his kindly speech, I saw the beautiful dark eyes of the young man fill with tears--'twas marvellous how handsome he appeared at this moment--and, a second later, he had seized the old man's hand and had clasped it to his breast and kissed it.
But, even as he performed this action, I also saw Sir George start a little, give, indeed, what was but the faintest of starts; yet beneath the bronze upon his manly face there rose a colour which, had he not been a sailor, and that a pretty old one, might have appeared to be a blush. But because he was so manly and so English himself--being always most courteous and well bred, though abhorring, as it seemed to me, all signs of emotion--I concluded that this foreign style of salutation did not commend itself over-much to him; yet he listened very courteously, deferentially almost, it appeared, to the words of gratitude which the youth was now pouring out--words of gratitude for his offer, yet combined also with an absolute refusal of that offer.
"Very well; since you will not, sir," he said, when the young man had finished, "there is no more to be done. Yet, take a word of warning from me, I beseech you. You will find it hard to reach England in a better way than I have suggested to you. Both France and Spain must be overrun with troops of all kinds at this time and--if you fall into their hands with your papers about you, showing you are an English subject--it may go hard. Also"--and now he tapped the cabin deck with his red-heeled shoe and looked down at it for a moment--"also--you are extremely well favoured. That, too, may injure you should--should--but," he went on, and without concluding his last sentence, "you understand what I mean," and now he gazed at Señor Juan with clear, frank eyes; gazed straight into his own.
For the life of me I could not understand what he was driving at, even if the youth himself could; since how a man should be injured by his good looks, even though in a hostile country, I failed to conceive. Certain, however, it was that the other understood well enough Sir George's meaning--his next action showed plainly enough that he did.
For now the rich warm colouring left his soft downless cheeks, even the full lips became pale, and he lifted his long slim hand and thrust it through the clusters of curls that hung over his forehead, as though in some distress of mind; then said, a moment later, looking up now and returning the admiral's glance fearlessly, while speaking very low.
"Yes, I understand. Yet, Señor, have no fear."
But I noticed, all the same, that he lifted his other hand as though to deprecate Sir George saying another word, which gesture he too seemed quite to understand, since he gave a half bow very solemnly ere he turned away.
Later, after Señor Juan had departed, and when Admiral Hopson had come over to the Royal Sovereign, to prepare for another of those endless councils which took place daily, Sir George looked up at me from some papers he was perusing, and said: "You are in the Pembroke, Mr. Crespin. Where have they bestowed that young man?"
"He is very comfortable, sir," I replied. "They have given him a spare cabin in the after flat."