“Vara weel, vara weel, Cap’en Billings,” said he, with a mock deference that little disguised his rage: “but I’d ha’e you to know that I didn’t ship aboard here to mess wi’ ’prentice lads.”
The skipper fired up in an instant, a light darting from his blue eyes which one would not have thought their liquid depths capable of.
“And I would have you to know, Mr Macdougall,” he retorted, quickly, uttering every word, however, with distinct emphasis, “that I’m captain of my own ship, and shall ask whom I please to my table. Steward,” he added, calling out to that worthy, who was just sauntering by into the cabin from the cook’s galley with a covered dish in his hands, “lay a plate and knife and fork for Mr Leigh; and bear in mind that he dines with me every day when his duties allow!”
“Aye, aye, sir,” replied Owen Williams, proceeding on into his pantry with his dish, and I followed the skipper into the cabin shortly afterwards.
This was undoubtedly a blow to the mate, as I thought, sniggering over the little episode at the time; but, Mr Macdougall did not forget the fact of my having been the occasion of his getting a “dressing down” from the skipper, and he debited it carefully in his account against me, determining to pay me out for it on the first convenient opportunity—a resolution that was carried out quite soon enough for me, as you will presently learn!
Chapter Fourteen.
In the Horse Latitudes.
At noon on our second day out, running right before the north-east by east wind all the while and making but little southing, with our royals and studding-sails set, and everything that could draw—the Esmeralda averaging nearly ten knots an hour every time we hove the log from the time of our clearing the Bristol Channel—we had reached the meridian of 12 degrees 15 minutes west; for Captain Billings wisely took advantage of such a favourable breeze, as I’ve remarked before, to get well to windward of the French coast, knowing well that we might shortly meet with westerly winds of a variable nature that would probably put us quite as far to the eastward as we should want—in the event of our making too much westing.