"Mr. Royle, if you had a pistol to give me, I would help you to shoot them! Show me how I can aid you in saving our lives, and I will do your bidding!" she exclaimed, with her eyes on fire.
I put my finger on my lip and smiled.
She blushed scarlet and said, "You do not think me womanly to talk so!"
"You would not hate me were you to know my thoughts," I answered, rising.
"Yes. Stevens, for all I know, may have seen me come in here. I would rather he should find me in my own cabin."
"We see very little of you, considering that we are all three in one small ship," she said, hanging her head.
"I never leave you willingly, and would be with you all day if I might. But a rough sailor like me is poor company."
"Sailors are the best company in the world, Mr. Royle."
"Only one woman in every hundred thinks so—perhaps one in every thousand. Well, you would see less of me than you do if I was not prepared to lay down my life for you. No! I don't say that boastfully. I have sworn in my heart to save you, and it shall cost me my life if I fail. That is what I should have said."