"The brig's officer, however, was evidently too busy a man, and seemingly in too great a hurry to get back, for listening much to such a rigmarole, as he no doubt thought it; they had been at the Cape, and were bound for St Helena again where she was one of the cruisers on guard; so that what with Finch's story, and what with the crowd round the second lieutenant, all anxious to get the news, I saw it wouldn't cost Westwood and me great pains to keep clear of notice.
"There were some riots in London, and three men hanged for a horrid murder, the Duke of Northumberland's death, not to speak of a child born with two heads, or something--all since we left England. Then there was Lord Exmouth come home from Algiers; and Fort Hattrass, I think it was, taken in India, which made every cadet prick up his ears; Admiral Plampin was arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, too, in the _Conqueror_, seventy-four, and on his way steering for St Helena, to take Sir Pulteney Malcolm's place. All of a sudden, I heard the young luff begin to mention a captain of a frigate's having been shot two months ago, by his own first lieutenant, on Southsea beach, and the lieutenant being supposed to have gone off in some outward-bound ship. 'By-the-by,' said the officer to Mr Rollock, 'you must have left about that time--did you touch at Portsmouth?' 'Why, yes,' answered the planter, 'we did. What were the parties' names?' I edged over to Westwood near the head of the companion, and whispered to him to go below to our berth, in case of their happening to attend to us more particularly; and the farther apart we two kept the better, I thought. The officer at once gave Captain Duncombe's name, but didn't remember the other; on which he turned to his first lieutenant with, 'I say, Mr Aldridge, d'you recollect the man's name that shot the captain of the _N'Oreste_, as they called her?' 'What, that bad business?' said the other; 'no, Mr Moore, I really don't--I hope he's far enough off by this time!' My breath came again at this, for it had just come into my mind that Finch, who was close by, had got hold of the name, although he fancied it mine.
"I was sauntering down the stair, thinking how much may hang at times on a man's good memory, when I heard the first lieutenant say, 'By-the-by, though, now I recollect, wasn't it Westwood?' 'Yes, yes, Westwood it was!' said the other. Then came an exclamation from Finch, and shortly after he and the first lieutenant stepped down together, talking privately of the matter, I suppose, to the cuddy, where I had gone myself. The lieutenant looked up at me seriously once or twice, then went on deck, and a few minutes afterwards the brig's boat was pulling towards her again, while the passengers flocked below to breakfast. I saw the thing was settled; the mate could scarcely keep in his triumph, as he eyed me betwixt surprise and dislike, though rather more respectfully than before. As for Westwood, he sat down with the rest, quite ignorant of what had turned up; notwithstanding he threw an uneasy look or two through the cuddy port at the brig, still curveting to windward of us, with her main-yard aback; for my part, I made up my mind, in the meanwhile, to bear the brunt of it.
