“This is the stuff!” he pursued, holding it up. “This’ll burn to the bone; you’ll see it smoke upon ’im like ’ell-fire! One drop upon ’is bloomin’ heyesight, and I’ll trouble you for Attwater!”
“No, no, by God!” exclaimed the captain.
“Now, see ’ere, ducky,” said Huish, “this is my bean-feast, I believe? I’m goin’ up to that man single-’anded, I am. ’E’s about seven foot high, and I’m five foot one. ’E’s a rifle in his ’and, ’e’s on the look-out, ’e wasn’t born yesterday. This is Dyvid and Goliar, I tell you! If I’d ast you to walk up and face the music I could understand. But I don’t. I on’y ast you to stand by and spifflicate the niggers. It’ll all come in quite natural; you’ll see, else! Fust thing, you know, you’ll see him running round and ’owling like a good ’un....”
“Don’t!” said Davis. “Don’t talk of it!”
“Well, you are a juggins!” exclaimed Huish. “What did you want? You wanted to kill him, and tried to last night. You wanted to kill the ’ole lot of them, and tried to, and ’ere I show you ’ow; and because there’s some medicine in a bottle you kick up this fuss!”
“I suppose that’s so,” said Davis. “It don’t seem someways reasonable, only there it is.”
“It’s the happlication of science, I suppose?” sneered Huish.
“I don’t know what it is,” cried Davis, pacing the floor; “it’s there! I draw the line at it. I can’t put a finger to no such piggishness. It’s too damned hateful!”
“And I suppose it’s all your fancy pynted it,” said Huish, “w’en you take a pistol and a bit o’ lead, and copse a man’s brains all over him? No accountin’ for tystes.”
“I’m not denying it,” said Davis; “it’s something here, inside of me. It’s foolishness; I daresay it’s dam foolishness. I don’t argue; I just draw the line. Isn’t there no other way?”