"What next, Louis?" asked the captain with a smile on his face; for he believed he had stolen his friend's first question "after the battle."
"That is for you to decide, Captain Scott, and I intend to avoid any interference with the duties of the commander," replied Louis.
"But when the commander asks for advice it may be given without offence," suggested Scott. "We have just got out of the tightest place in which we have ever been placed, and our experience hitherto has been boy's play compared with this day's work."
"That is very true; this is by all odds the most serious affair in which we have ever been engaged," answered Louis, as he seated himself on the divan.
"I am not going to beat about the bush for a moment, my dear fellow; and before we talk about anything else, even of what we will do next in this trying situation, I want to say that I am very much troubled in my mind in regard to the consequences of what I have done," continued Scott, as he seated himself by the side of his friend and model on the divan.
"I don't wonder that you are troubled; so am I, for I think we may well regard what has happened as an extraordinary event," added Louis.
"I say what I have done; for I purposely abstained from asking advice of you or any other fellow, after I had decided what to do, even if there had been time for me to consult you. In other words, I took the entire responsibility upon myself; and there I purpose to have it rest."
"Of course you had no time to ask the opinion of any fellow, even if it could have been of any use to you."
"I believe I did the best I could. The shallow water at the south of us prevented me from running away in that direction, as I tried to do, and the only avenue out of the difficulty was directly ahead of the Maud."
"I understand it all perfectly, for I could measure the situation from the upper deck," said Louis.