"She lies lovely," he remarked, and ordered out a boat
with the starboard anchor.
"Here! steady!" cried Tommy. "You ain't going to turn
us to, to warp her off?"
"I am though," replied Wicks.
"I won't set a hand to such tomfoolery for one,"
replied Tommy. "I'm dead beat." He went and sat down
doggedly on the main hatch. "You got us on; get us off
again," he added.
Carthew and Wicks turned to each other.
"Perhaps you don't know how tired we are," said
Carthew.
"The tide's flowing!" cried the captain. "You wouldn't
have me miss a rising tide?"
"O, gammon! there's tides to-morrow!" retorted Tommy.
"And I'll tell you what," added Carthew, "the breeze is
failing fast, and the sun will soon be down. We may
get into all kinds of fresh mess in the dark and with
nothing but light airs."
"I don't deny it," answered Wicks, and stood a while as
if in thought. "But what I can't make out," he began
again, with agitation,--"what I can't make out is what
you're made of! To stay in this place is beyond me.
There's the bloody sun going down--and to stay here is
beyond me!"
The others looked upon him with horrified surprise.
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