"Lord bless my soul!" exclaimed De Vaux in his high-pitched voice. "Is the man a coward?"
"Lord have mercy on my soul!" prayed Clark, under the table.
"My God! ... This is disgraceful," stuttered De Vaux. "I never heard of the like.... Bless my soul!"
"Oh, God! ... Have mercy on my soul!" echoed Clark.
"Sounds like a Free Methodist prayer-meeting!" remarked Sinclair, with a laugh, in which the rest joined.
"Mother, doesn't Mr. Clark get under the table and whine just like Carlo when father whipped him for keeping company with those nasty Chinese dogs?"
"Hush, Constance! Don't you say another word."
Sinclair reached under the table and began to pull Clark out:
"Come along, Clark! The Lord's going to give you another chance with that soul of yours. Perhaps you will have it in better shape by the time you get the next call."
When a few minutes later a boat from the Locust arrived to take all to the gunboat for greater safety, Clark found his legs with amazing expedition. Indeed, he would have been the first person in the boat if it had not been that Lieutenant Lanyon, who was in command, caught him by the collar and jerked him back on the jetty with the warning: