"Was that done by your order, Mr. Kendall?" demanded the irate savant.
"No, sir; it was not," replied Paul, blushing with indignation at such an insinuation.
"It is very singular that the rope should fall just at the moment I was passing," added Mr. Hamblin, sourly, as he straightened out his crumpled tile.
"I am sorry it occurred, sir," said Paul, who uttered no more than the literal truth.
Mr. Hamblin glanced around the deck at the students who were collected there. They did not seem to be sorry; on the contrary, there was a look of diabolical satisfaction in the expression of most of them, and not a few were actually laughing.
"I demand the immediate punishment of the offender," said Mr. Hamblin, irritated by this manifestation on the part of the students.
By this time Grimme had descended from his perilous perch, having completed the reeving of the halyard. Without a moment's delay, he hastened to the spot where the angry man stood, and touched his cap with the utmost deference.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Hamblin. I hope you will excuse me," said Grimme, who really wore a very troubled look.
"You did it on purpose, you scoundrel!" growled the professor, savagely; for he could not fail to see the ill-suppressed chuckling of the students in the waist.
"No, sir! I did not, sir!" protested Grimme. "I had the end in my mouth, and was just going to drop the coil when I saw you."