'Do you believe me, Bertie, when I tell you straight that if I hadn't interfered you'd hev been dead by now?' asked Bill as he sat down again.
'No,' said Bertie.
Ben Wilkins got up and walked close to the prisoner.
'Don't you?' asked Ben. His eyes were like furnaces. 'Don't you?'
'Stand back, Ben,' said Bill. 'My son, don't you think you kin persuade yourself I speak the trewth?'
There was a strange short silence.
'Speak,'said Bill.
'Ye—es,' said Bertie.
Bill nodded.
'Ah, I thought you'd see it, my son. It's true, it's truer than most gospel, as preached. Why, you miserable galoot, what we thinks of you is below words. What do you know? You know nothin'. You reckon you know "horse." Let me tell that does, that you don't know "horse," nor mewel, nor even jackass. Your knowledge of horses is equal to your knowledge of men. Mebbe this'll teach you some. Your clothes don't make you a man, nor your eyeglass. You talked a while back about mutiny! Waal, I ain't an expert in mutiny, but my notion is that the only authority such as you possess is the authority nat'ral to a man. You've got none. You said you'd hev us all in gaol at Cape Town. Some of us hev assaulted you, eh? Well, you assaulted some of us. Is your opinion of yourself ez high ez it was at supper-time, or hev you come to the conclusion that you've suthin' to l'arn? I don't press for an answer, for I reckon one ain't required. You've been taken down some, and we've done it serious, and without violence, because you're a boy and may be made a man of yet. I ain't down on Englishmen, like some is out West. I know good men Englishmen, real good. But your kind, when green, would rise the dander of a peaceful cow. The order of this Court is, that your gun shall be throwed overboard, and that you'll wear no real gun while we're here to take care of you. Ben, break up Bertie's nice new gun, and do it now.'