Most of the seamen of the ship and of the consorts enjoyed the fun, and wished Scott to go on. When the question of order was put, a large majority sustained the decision of the chair. Cantwell began to feel that he had a host of friends, and that the plot of the officers would be defeated.
"Mr. Scott has the floor, and may proceed with his remarks," said he, when the vote was declared.
"I trust I have shown conclusively that I am a good fellow," continued Scott. (Hearty applause.) "Now, to apply what I had said when I was so ungenerously interrupted, if I am a good fellow, I deserve to be the captain, or at least one of the lieutenants, of the ship" (rapturous applause), "provided I get a greater number of merit marks than any other fellow; of course I don't expect to wink the marks out of sight. Not long since I made a little excursion through Sweden with some friends of mine, without exactly running away. The fact was, we couldn't find the ship, though we searched diligently for her." (Applause, and cries of "Finkel.") "I hear 'Finkel.' Finkel was there, and had a finger in the pie. Now, no one can tell how many merits I got for that excursion, and for my struggles to find the ship; nor how many I got for the glass of finkel I drank, which, I grant, deranged my ideas. Then I was caught asleep on the anchor watch, and neither you nor I know how many merit marks I had for that. We are not permitted to examine the record books of the instructors, and therefore we cannot know how high we are marked for any recitation or exercise; but, Mr. Chairman, I got high this month" (violent applause), "and therefore I ought to have a high office. At any rate, Mr. Chairman, the highest office lies between you and me; and I think all present, who have considered the matter, will agree that it belongs to one of us" ("Hear, hear"), "and my modesty does not permit me to indicate which one. And now, Mr. Chairman, within three days of the end of the month, when the prize of a noble ambition is almost within my grasp, comes this cruel conspiracy to rob me of reward!"
Scott was trying to imitate Forrest, or some other great tragic actor whom he had seen, in the last clause of his speech, and the students were convulsed with laughter at his deep tones and wild gestures. He continued a few moments longer in the same strain, being frequently interrupted by applause and other demonstrations.
"And now, Mr. Chairman, I have done. If my shipmates will thus sting me to death when I am almost at the pinnacle of a noble ambition, I can only yield, as the noble Caesar did when he declared that Brutus ate two slapjacks for his breakfast. I shall fall, not by my own fault, but, like Caesar, by the madness of ambitious office-seekers. But I shall fall free from the taint of dishonor—scot-free."
The orator wiped his brow with his coat sleeve, having left his handkerchief in the pocket of his pea-jacket, while the applause of the seamen rang through the island groves and over the silent sea.
De Forrest was angry when he saw that the proceedings of the meeting were turned into a farce, and he made haste to reply to Scott's effective speech. The only point he made was, that the last speaker had no expectation of obtaining the lowest cabin office, or even of being the coxswain of the fourth cutter, and therefore his argument was simply ridiculous.
"I should like to ask the third lieutenant if I did not say that the highest office lay between the chairman of the meeting and myself," demanded Scott.
"Yes, yes," shouted a score.
"He did; but he spoke of a conspiracy against his own rights," replied De Forrest.