"Yes, I"m here, master."
"What was that you were saying to me just now?"
"Just now?" said the man wonderingly. "Well, you do go on queer, zir.
That was the day afore yes"day. But I zay, you are better now, aren"t you?"
"Better? I don"t know. I thought I was drowned."
"Poor lad!" said Pete softly; but it seemed to sting Nic.
"What do you mean by that?" he said feebly.
"Zorry for you, master."
"Why?"
""Cause you"ve been zo bad."
"Been so bad?" said Nic thoughtfully. "Why have I been so bad? It"s very strange."
Pete Burge made no reply, and there was silence again, till it was broken by Nic, who said suddenly:
"Have you been very bad too?"
"Me, zir? Yes, horrid. Thought I was going to the locker, as they call it. Doctor zaid I ought to have been took to the hospital."
"Were you nearly drowned?" said Nic after a pause, during which he had to fight hard to keep his thinking power under control.
"Was I nearly drowned, zir?" said the man, with a low chuckle. "Zeems to me I was nearly everythinged. Head smashed, chopped, choked, and drowned too."
Nic was silent again, for he could not take in so many ideas as this at once, and it was some minutes before he could collect himself for another question.
"But you are better now?"
"Oh yes, zir, I"m better now. Doctor zays I"m to get up to-morrow."
"The doctor! Was that the doctor whom I heard talking yesterday?"
"Yes: two of "em; they"ve pulled uz round wonderful. You frightened me horrid, master, the way you went on, and just when I was most bad. You made me feel it was all my fault, and I couldn"t zleep for thinking that if you died I"d killed you. But I zay, master, you won"t die now, will you?"
"How absurd!" said Nic, with a weak laugh. "Of course not. Why should I die now?"
"Ah, why indeed, when you"re getting better?"
There was another silence before Nic began again.
"I"ve been wondering," he said, "why it is that we can be going round the salmon-pool like this, and yet be lying here talking about the doctor and being bad."
"Ay, "tis rum, sir."
"Yes, it puzzles me. Look here; didn"t we have a fight with you and your men to-night?"
"We had a big fight, sir; but it waren"t to-night."
"But it"s quite dark still, and I suppose it"s my head being giddy that makes me feel that we"re going up and down."
"Oh no, it aren"t, zir," said the man, laughing; "we"re going up and down bad enough. Not zo bad as we have been."
"And round and round?"
"No; not going round, master."
"But where are we?" said Nic eagerly.
"Ah, that puzzles you, do it, zir? Well, it puzzled me at first, till I asked; and then the doctor zaid we was in the c.o.c.kpit, but I haven"t heard any battle-c.o.c.ks crowing, and you can"t zee now, it"s zo dark.
Black enough, though, for a pit."
"c.o.c.kpit--c.o.c.kpit!" said Nic. "Why, that"s on board ship."
"To be zure."
"But we are not on board ship?"
"Aren"t we?" said the man.
"I--I don"t understand," cried Nic after a pause. "My head is all confused and strange. Tell me what it all means."
Pete Burge was silent.
"Poor lad!" he said to himself; "how"s he going to take it when he knows all?"
"You do not speak," said Nic excitedly. "Ah! I am beginning to think clearly now. You came with the men after the salmon?"
"Ay, worse luck. I didn"t want to, but I had to go."
"Come," said Nic sharply. "To-night, wasn"t it?"
"Nay. It"s "bout three weeks ago, master."
This announcement, though almost a repet.i.tion, seemed to stun Nic for the time; but he began again:
"We had a desperate fight, didn"t we?"
"Worst I was ever in."
"And--yes, I remember; we were struggling in the pool when the sailors came."
"That"s it, master; you"ve got it now."