Some dinner was taken to him on deck; but I saw Wilkins afterwards carry the dishes forward, and the food appeared to me untouched. At the supper hour he came to the table, but neither ate nor drank. During the greater part of the sitting he kept turning his eyes first on one and then on the other of us with a dim sort of strained interrogative expression in his stare, as though he was struggling with some degree of suffering to dislodge an imagination or idea out of a remote secret cell of his brain and bring it forward into the clear light of his understanding. He seemed to find Miss Temple’s presence a restraint. Sometimes, after eyeing me he’d start as if about to speak, but instantly check himself with a glance at the girl, whilst his face would darken to some mood of irritation and impatience.
Another gloriously fine night followed sunset that day, with a brighter and longerliving moon, and a gushing of breeze that melted through, and through one with the delicious coolness that it brushed off the waters and gathered from the dew. The sea throbbed in flashings of foam, which shone with the radiance of moon-touched snow mingled with spangles of the gold and emerald light of the phosphor. There was a pleasant roaring and hissing noise off the weather bow, with merry whistlings aloft, where the fullthroated canvas soaring to the main-topgallant yard leaned in pale spaces against the stars, with frequent sweeps of the mastheads to the frisky plungings of the clipper hull upon the head seas.
The carpenter was in charge of the deck. He was standing at the rail abreast of the wheel, when it occurred to me to accost him, that I might gather from his replies what notions had been put into his head by the captain having changed the course. I had Miss Temple on my arm, for the deck was hardly safe for her without some such support. We went to the binnacle, and I took a peep at the card, then crossed over to the carpenter.
‘Good-evening, Mr. Lush. A rattling breeze this! Since Rio is our destination, such a draught as this should put us in the way of making it smartly, off her course as the barque is.’
‘I suppose you know what we’re a-going there for?’ he answered in a gruff tone of voice, that left me in doubt as to whether he intended a question or not.
‘You are second mate, and of course are in the captain’s confidence. What should I know that you don’t?’
‘Ah, what?’ he exclaimed, in a voice like a dog’s growl.
Miss Temple slightly pressed my arm, as though she would have me walk away.
‘A vessel like this wants a chief mate,’ said I, ‘some one who knows what to do with the sun and stars.’
‘Oh, then, you’re acquainted with the reason why we’re going to Rio?’ said he in a tone of such impudent sarcasm, that without another word I rounded on my heel and led Miss Temple forward.