"You want to speak to me?"
"I must speak either to the captain or the boatswain," answered the man.
"Negoro," said Dick sharply, "you know as well as I do, that they are both drowned."
"Then where am I to get my orders from?" asked the fellow insolently.
"From me," promptly rejoined the apprentice.
"From you! from a boy of fifteen?"
"Yes, from me," repeated Dick, in a firm and resolute voice, looking at the man until he recoiled under his gaze. "From me"
Mrs. Weldon had heard what passed.
"I wish every one on board to understand," she interposed, "that Dick Sands is captain now. Orders must be taken from him, and they must be obeyed."
Negoro frowned, bit his lip, sneered, and having muttered something that was unintelligible, made his way back to his cabin.