“God do so to me, and more also, but you shall answer for every hair of her head that’s injured. Why did you let her go? Why didn’t you stop her? Why didn’t you go with her?”
Thus Pomfrett, and much more to the same effect. I never saw him in so deplorable a condition of rage and distress. But, after a while, he consented to wait until six o’clock before setting out with the whole ship’s company to rescue the damsel.
“I know,” he said, at last, “it’s her doing. You couldn’t help it—I couldn’t myself. And perhaps she’ll come back safe—she’s very clever, Harry,” says the captain, wistfully.
And, meantime, as you shall hear, Morgan Leroux stood in no danger at all, save in the captain’s excited imagination. The occurrence marks a stage in the relations of these two.
XII
The Old Buccaneer and the New
So our quest of the stolen ship promised to issue, in no tragical adventure but, a simple dinner-party. When there’s a lady in the case, the schemes of men are commonly disposed quite otherwise than they had planned.
Pacing the quarterdeck, sitting down, getting up again, trying to smoke and forgetting to keep the tobacco alight, now neglecting all oversight of the men, and again turning upon some luckless seaman like a tiger—who now so uneasy as the captain, deprived of his gentleman-adventurer?
“And what in the wide world am I to do with Dawkins, should he come aboard?” says he.
“Put him in irons, take over the Blessed Endeavour, then maroon him; simple as you stand there.”
“Don’t you see, you fool, I can’t touch the man so long as he’s aboard? He’s my guest.”