I was overwhelmed with
miserable, womanish pity for my broken friend; his
outcries grieved my spirit; I saw him then and now--
then, so invincible; now, brought so low--and knew
neither how to refuse nor how to consent to his
proposal. The remembrance of my father, who had fallen
in the same field unstained, the image of his monument
incongruously rising a fear of the law, a chill air
that seemed to blow upon my fancy from the doors of
prisons, and the imaginary clank of fetters, recalled
me to a different resolve. And then, again, the wails
of my sick partner intervened. So I stood hesitating,
and yet with a strong sense of capacity behind, sure,
if I could but choose my path, that I should walk in it
with resolution.
Then I remembered that I had a friend on board, and
stepped to the companion.
"Gentlemen," said I, "only a few moments more: but
these, I regret to say, I must make more tedious still
by removing your companion. It is indispensable that I
should have a word or two with Captain Nares."
Both the smugglers were afoot at once, protesting.
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