"Don't you see that gun sticking out through her bulwark?" asked Louis.
"I see it now, but I had not noticed it before," answered the captain. "Then Mazagan was not lying when he said that his vessel had been armed since he took command of her. I suppose I ought to be frightened at the appearance of that twelve-pounder, poking its muzzle out the side of the vessel; but somehow I am not a bit scared," said the captain, with a broader smile on his face than usual.
"But twelve-pound shot are not agreeable missiles to have plumped through the side of the Maud."
"Perhaps not; but the lively little craft is built of extra strength, and she can stand a few of them. I am more concerned about the speed of the Fatimé than I am about her guns. Of course she has another gun on her starboard side."
"Of course."
"If Mazagan had consulted me in regard to the placing of them, he could not have arranged them to suit me any better. But her speed is of more consequence than her guns."
"I judge from that, that you intend to run away from her," suggested Louis.
"Louis," said Captain Scott, looking at his companion with a very serious expression for him, "there is a recording angel hovering over and around me all the time."
"I suppose every fellow has one near him, to make a note of all his thoughts and actions, though we don't often take notice of his presence."
"I believe all that, and that we shall be held responsible for all we do and say, and even for what we think," replied Scott.