"Why, he has been to attend to the prisoners," I thought, and this set
me thinking about them. To think about them was to begin wishing to
have a look at them, and to begin wishing was with me to walk forward to
where they were confined, with a couple of marines on duty with loaded
rifles and fixed bayonets.
The men challenged as I marched up.
"It's all right," I said. "I only want to have a look at them."
"Can't pass, sir, without orders," said the man.
"But I'm an officer," I said testily. "I'm not going to help them
escape."
The marine grinned.
"No, sir, 'tain't likely; but we has strict orders. You ask my mate,
sir."
"Yes, sir; that's it, sir," said the other respectfully.
"What a bother!" I cried impatiently. "I only wanted to see how they
looked."
"'Tain't my fault, sir; strict orders. And they ain't very pretty to
look at, sir, and it'd be 'most as safe to go in and see a box o'
wild-beasts. Doctor's been in this last hour doin' on 'em up, with
depitty, and two on us inside at the `present' all the time. They'd
think nothing o' flying at him, and all the time he was taking as much
pains with them as if they were some of our chaps. They have give it to
one another awful."
"Well, I am sorry," I said. "I should have liked to see them."
"So'm I sorry, sir; I'd have let you in a minute, but you don't want to
get me in a row, sir."
"Oh no, of course not," I said.
"My mate here says, sir--"
"Get out! Hold your row," growled the other, protesting.
"Yes, what does he say?" I cried eagerly.
"That if we was to shut 'em up close in the dark and not go anigh, sir,
till to-morrow morning, there wouldn't be nothing left but one o' their
tails."
"Like the Kilkenny cats, eh?" I said, laughing; and I went back on deck
with the desire to see the prisoners stronger than ever.
Captain Thwaites was on the quarter-deck, marching up and down, and the
men were hard at work cleaning up, squaring the yards, and repainting.
The spars were up in their places again, and the _Teaser_ was rapidly
resuming her old aspect, when I saw Mr Reardon go up to the captain.
"I'll ask leave," I said. "He has been pretty civil;" and I made up my
mind to wait till the lieutenant came away.
"No, I won't," I said. "I'll go and ask the captain when he has gone."
The next moment I felt that this would not do, for Mr Reardon would be
sure to know, and feel vexed because I had not asked him.
"I'll go and ask leave while they are both together," I said to myself.
"That's the way."
But I knew it wasn't, and took a turn up and down till I saw Mr Reardon
salute and come away, looking very intent and busy.