"I hope not; and I do not expect any."
Mr. Lowington returned to the ship, satisfied that he had healed the wounds of both the sufferers. Paul was happy, and he determined to treat the professor with the utmost deference and kindness, and thus remove the remembrance of the difficulty. At four o'clock, after the squadron had passed Beveland, and entered the Belgian territory, Paul went down to recite his Greek, as usual. He could not help seeing that Mr. Hamblin's lip quivered, and that he was laboring under strong emotions, when he took his place at the mess table. The captain was hardly less embarrassed, but he hoped an opportunity would soon occur for him to perform some kind act for the irritated gentleman.
When the recitation was nearly finished, and both parties had recovered their self-possession, the vessel gave a sudden "bump," which nearly tipped the professor off his stool; but he righted himself, and was too much absorbed in his favorite study to think of the incident for a moment.
"Mr. Terrill directs me to report to you that the vessel is aground!" said one of the midshipmen, in breathless haste, touching his cap to the captain.
Paul blushed deeply, and was intensely annoyed at this repetition of the circumstances of Saturday; but there was no alternative but for him to go on deck.
"Will you excuse me, Mr. Hamblin?" asked Paul, rising.
The professor bowed, but made no reply in words. He wondered if the vessel had not been run aground on purpose to mortify and annoy him. He was inclined to think that such was the case, and that it had been done to enable the captain to display his absolute authority.
Paul went on deck; but the pilot assured him that the accident would not subject the vessel to half an hour's delay, for the tide was rising very rapidly. He had run her a little too near a shoal, while the Young America, by keeping in mid channel, had gone clear. There was nothing for the captain to do on deck, and he returned to his class. The Josephine came off the ground within the half hour, and by putting on more sail overhauled the ship before she reached Antwerp.
"Here is the city, Paul," said Dr. Winstock, as the Josephine rounded a bend in the river. "You can see the spire of Antwerp Cathedral."
"I see it, sir. I have heard a great deal about it. This is farther than we have been from the sea since we sailed."