“Nuzzing to be done,� mumbled the captain, relapsing again, “on your course, Mr. Mulliner.�
But Jack was too far enraged to stand this. He sprang forward and grasped the first officer’s sleeve.
“Mr. Mulliner, sir, you won’t see this cowardly thing done? You won’t leave that poor lad back there without a chance for his life?�
“I can’t help it, my boy, captain’s orders, sorry,� and the officer stepped into the wheelhouse to give the steersman his orders.
“It’s murder,â€� shouted Jack, “I’ll see that you suffer for it, Captain Briggs. It’s a black crime, it’s the work of a coward, it’s——â€�
A heavy hand fell on his shoulder. It was Captain Briggs. His face was aflame with indignation.
“Wadderyer mean, you young jackanapes,� he roared, beside himself with anger and the potations he had drunk, “Jenks, Andrews!�
The seamen who had been heaving the bucket stepped up. They stood waiting.
“Bind this young turkey cock hand and foot and lock him in his cabin,� thundered Captain Briggs, “he’s guilty of mutiny on the high seas, by Neptune. To-morrow I’ll see if there’s not a pair of irons on board that will fit him.�
“Do you mean that I am under arrest, captain?� stammered Jack, completely taken aback.