The trusty second engineer closed the door gently.
Massy listened. Instead of passing on to the bathroom where he should have gone to clean himself, the second entered his cabin, which was next door. Mr. Massy jumped up and waited. Suddenly he heard the lock snap in there. He rushed out and gave a violent kick to the door.
“I believe you are locking yourself up to get drunk,” he shouted.
A muffled answer came after a while.
“My own time.”
“If you take to boozing on the trip I’ll fire you out,” Massy cried.
An obstinate silence followed that threat. Massy moved away perplexed. On the bank two figures appeared, approaching the gangway. He heard a voice tinged with contempt—
“I would rather doubt your word. But I shall certainly speak to him of this.”
The other voice, Sterne’s, said with a sort of regretful formality—
“Thanks. That’s all I want. I must do my duty.”