“Money all gone, Lingall?” asked the vice-principal, who, like his superior, believed that satire was an effective means of discipline at times.
“No, sir: I have over fifty pounds left,” replied Bark, more respectfully than he had formerly been in the habit of speaking, even to the principal.
“What did you come back for, then?” demanded Mr. Pelham.
“Because I am sorry for what I have done, and ask to be forgiven,” answered Bark, taking off his hat, and fixing his gaze upon the deck, while his bosom was swelling with emotion.
The vice-principal was touched by his manner. He had stood in the same position before the principal five years before; and he indulged in no more light words. He took the prodigal down into his cabin, so that whatever passed between them might have no witnesses.
“Do you come back voluntarily, Lingall?” asked the vice-principal in gentle tones.
“I do, sir: I left Cadiz three days ago. I had been waiting there a month for the squadron to arrive. We did not know where it was, for the last we could learn of it was its arrival in Carthagena.”
“You say we: were you not alone?”
“No, sir: Raymond was with me.”