"I felt sure. Yet I cannot recall--I cannot----"
"Let me do so for you. You formed one of the Court-martial on board the Warwick which broke me, drove me from out the sea service. Do you remember now?"
Then, in a voice as cold as ice, Geoffrey, after regarding the man before him for another minute, said--
"Ay, I remember. Your name is Lewis Granger. I remember very well. I remember the Glastonbury affair."
"I was innocent. Though found guilty."
"Innocent! Innocent! Though you restored----"
"I was innocent, I say!" the other cried loudly. "But enough! Lewis Granger is no more. The man you are talking to is called Lewis. Well, you want men! How many, and what will you pay?"
"The King's price. Two pounds for experienced sailors; two pounds for willing men; one pound for landlubbers--'kids.'"
"It is not enough. There are no more sailors to be had, and the willing hands are all taken, by you and others. As for 'kids'--yes. But at the price of sailors--my price, not theirs--three pounds. Two for them, one for me."
"I shall not pay it. There are still others hereabouts whom I can take."