At half-past eight in the morning they were again on board of the ship, having been absent a little more than three hours.
To Mont the captain was more difficult to understand than ever.
He had risked his own life to save that of a poor Indian whom he had never seen before, and was never likely to see again.
This showed that he could not have a bad heart.
His heart was not entirely dead, whatever his faults might be.
As if the captain guessed Mont's thoughts, he observed to him at the bottom of the staircase on board the ship:
"That Indian belonged to an oppressed race. I also am one of the oppressed, and to my last breath I shall continue to be so. You recognize now the bond of union between us?"