“Phaugh, man!” exclaimed Captain Billings, with intense disgust. “Don’t try and excuse yourself; it only makes matters much worse! I don’t mind your knocking the lad down, and I daresay Leigh would forgive you for that, too; but what I am indignant at is the fact of your telling such a gross lie about the transaction, and allowing me to take an unjust view of the quarrel—making me disrate the young fellow, and punish him as I did, under a false, impression of what his conduct had been, all of which a word from you might have altered! Besides, just think how in your conceited ignorance you nearly wrecked the ship and sacrificed all our lives through your refusal to take a hint from the lad as to our position. Why, I don’t mind receiving a suggestion from the humblest foremast hand any day!”
“But—” put in the mate again, trying to defend himself.
His appeal, however, was in vain, for the skipper would not listen to him for a moment.
“You had better go below, Mr Macdougall,” he said. “I cannot speak calmly to you now, and the sooner you’re out of my sight the better for you! But stop a minute,” he added, as if on after reflection. “As you were present when I disrated Leigh—on the ground mainly of your false statements as to his having assaulted you without any provocation on your part, which has now been proved to have been false—it is only right that you should also be present at the restoration of the lad to his former post. Leigh!”
“Here, sir,” I replied to this last hail of the skipper’s, on his completing his reprimand to the mate. I anticipated, of course, what was coming, and my heart gave an exultant thump, almost “leaping into my mouth,” as the saying is.
“I’m sorry, my boy, I did you a wrong this afternoon,” said Captain Billings, stretching out his hand kindly to me as he spoke. “I hope, however, you’ll forgive me, and bear no malice. I now wish you to return to your duties as acting second mate in Mr Ohlsen’s place until he’s fit and well again; and I trust you’ll have no further disagreements with any of the officers of the ship.”
“Thank you, sir,” I answered respectfully, accepting the hand he offered and giving it a cordial shake. “I will be very careful of my conduct in future, and I’m sorry for being impertinent to Mr Macdougall—”
I turned here towards where the first mate had been standing; but he had disappeared, so the skipper accepted the apology I intended for him, on his behalf in his absence, making short my amende honorable.
“Never mind him now, my lad,” he said, waving his hand as if dismissing Mr Macdougall from further consideration. “He’s gone below, and joy go with him, if he’s got any conscience! And, by the way, Leigh, I shan’t forget that you’ve saved all our lives to-night by your timely warning.”
“It was more Jorrocks than I, sir,” I interposed here, stopping the skipper’s thanks. “I thought the sound of the breakers was caused by a lot of whales blowing near us; but he knew better, and he it was who sang out to the helmsman.”