‘You will be smiling at these fears in a few days, I hope,’ I exclaimed.
‘Yes; but it is the meanwhile we have to think of,’ she answered. ‘Look at that man there’—meaning Mr. Lush; ‘pray, tell me, Mr. Dugdale, that he has a very handsome, manly, good-tempered face.’
‘No; I confess I don’t like his appearance,’ I answered, stealing a peep at the sulky-looking old dog, who continued to stare at the horizon with the immovability of a figure-head; ‘yet inside of that hide there may be stowed away a very worthy member of society. A crab-apple is not a fruit to delight the eye; but I believe it is wholesome eating, though a trifle austere.’
At that moment the captain looked up from his book, and after taking a prolonged view of us, came in a slow walk to where we were standing, holding the volume in his hand.
‘You have a charming little ship here, captain,’ said I; ‘I am exceedingly pleased with her.’
‘Yes, sir; she’s a handy craft. She will do her work,’ he answered, sending his unwinking eyes with their sort of slow dead look along the deck.
‘Which of those men down there are the convicts and mutineers?’ began Miss Temple.
He whipped round upon her with a vehemence of manner that seemed a veritable fury of temper to the first seeing and hearing of it.
‘For God Almighty’s sake, not a word! D’ye want to see me a murdered man?’ He twisted round on to me: ‘Sir, you are to know nothing if you please. This lady is to know nothing. I asked ye both in the cabin to be secret. God’s death! if that man yonder had overheard her!’ He stopped short, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder at Lush.
Miss Temple was deadly pale. She had the same cowed air I had observed in her during our first few hours aboard the wreck.