The old man, Nestor, was the first to speak. In quavering tones he said,—
‘Nothin’ o’ the kind,’ replied Bill, the boldest of the group, letting go his hold and coming a little closer. ‘It’s a ’barmed corpus, that’s wot _It_ is. I was shipmates with one on ’em afore. A soger officer he were. He were lashed under the mizzen-top, an’ labelled “Combustibles; do not touch!” in big black letters. One fine mornin’ he come down by the run an’ busted the case. He was just the same’s this un, only they hadn’t put that howdacious grin on to him. It were in the old _Euryalus_, man-o’-war, so we had to suffer him; an’ a most hunlucky trip it were. Run her ashore twice. Took the sticks out on her twice. Lost four men overboard. No wonder _we’ve_ had three weeks o’ head winds. But this joker ’ll get a free passage without much delay, if I’ve got to give it him single-handed.’ So saying, he advanced, picked up the lid, and began to fasten it down.
The next morning dawned bright and clear; but the head wind still stood, and there was a nasty lump of a sea on. For the comparatively high latitude the air was warm and comfortable.
Most of the passengers came up on the poop after breakfast. Presently, with the assistance of the skipper’s arm, the widow began a promenade.
‘What an exhibition she’s making of herself! Her husband, if she ever had one, can’t be six months dead yet, by her mourning. She ought to be ashamed of herself—the sly thing!’
If the widow did not exactly hear all this, she felt it, and cast looks of triumphant defiance at her female friends, clustered in groups, most of them holding on to something unassisted. Elderly unmarried convalescents, and very spiteful, the majority.
‘Something—on—the—lee-quarter, sir!’ came down from aloft.
The skipper called for his glass, without quitting his companion.
‘Keep her away a couple of points,’ he commanded, as he brought the instrument to bear.
‘Can’t make it out at all,’ he went on, after a minute’s focussing. ‘Something white, jumping up and down. Bit of wreckage, spar, or the like, I expect. Keep her away another point. Take a peep, ma’am. Your bright eyes ’ll perhaps distinguish it.’
The widow bridled coquettishly and, supported by the skipper, put herself in what she fancied an appropriate and elegant position.