“Ask John,” said the mate again.
At this Mrs. Gibbs’s temper, which had been rising, gave way altogether, and she stamped fiercely upon the deck. A stamp of the foot has been for all time a rough-and-ready means of signalling; the fore-scuttle was drawn back, and the face of a young and pretty girl appeared framed in the opening. The mate raised his eyebrows with a helpless gesture, and as for the unfortunate skipper, any jury would have found him guilty without leaving the box. The wife of his bosom, with a flaming visage, turned and regarded him.
“You villain!” she said, in a choking voice.
“You villain!” she said, in a choking voice.
Captain Gibbs caught his breath and looked appealingly at the mate.
“It’s a little surprise for you, my dear,” he faltered, “it’s Ted’s young lady.”
“Nothing of the kind,” said the mate, sharply.
“It’s not? How dare you say such a thing?” demanded Miss Harris, stepping on to the deck.