“On that night I’d have given a pound for a pint of toddy like this.”
“By the bye, Mac,” said Duncan, “you did the thing very neatly that night.”
“I’m obliged to you, cousin, for your good opinion. What did Mr. Vaughan say about our doings? He saw the whole scene.”
“My lord said to me, that unless you had been present, all would have been lost, as the sailors up to the time you came up had the best of the battle.”
“Mr. Vaughan was right there, Duncan. Had I not come up at the moment I did, every wrecker would have been a dead man.”
“So my lord, who was on the rock above you, said.”
“Oh, Duncan, it was a sad sight! I hope, cousin, I shall never be compelled to witness a similar scene.
“It is a sickening and a degrading calling, this of ours, in which victory has no honour, and triumph no glory. While it is a merry life and profitable to those engaged in it, it is surrounded with scenes which are shocking to behold.”
“As our master has such a large estate, Duncan, why does he carry on so hazardous and so dangerous a calling?”
“The secret is this, he loves gold, and his heart is set on attaining riches; and to secure them he’ll take away any man’s life if it stands between him and the prize he covets.”