“Not to blame! Do you think I don’t know?”
The two men entered the library, hat in hand. They were brothers, which, perhaps, is the only explanation which can be offered of the fact that they adhered to each other in the present difficulty.
“Colonel Wimpleton, we came up to say that we have concluded not to run in the Ucayga any longer,” said the captain, with considerable deference, though there was a kind of dogged firmness in his tones and in his looks.
“Well, sir!” snapped the colonel.
“We have done our best, but we can’t please you.”
“You can’t please me by being half an hour behind time every day.”
“It isn’t my fault,” protested the captain. “And I won’t be insulted, as I have been to-day before all my passengers. You may get a new captain and a new engineer as soon as you please.”
“None of your impudence!”
“My impudence is no worse than yours. You won’t find any men who can do better than we have.”
“If I can’t, I will sink the boat in the middle of the lake.”