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"There," he said, "take that to Mr Brymer, and tell him to give it a good stir round, or we shall be killing some of the scoundrels, and letting others off scot free." "Yes," I said, looking with no little interest at the powder which he had turned out of the tiny scales he had used. "The cook is sure to stir it well too. But, Mr Frewen, will that little pinch or two of stuff be enough?"
No one spoke, and I could not help shivering as I saw the stern looks of the men by me, even Mr Preddle's round smooth face looking fierce and determined. Mr Frewen was the first to open his lips. "It is a bitter necessity," he said; "those men must be kept down, but I am obliged to speak now. Brymer, I am a surgeon, and there are at least two wounded men there below, perhaps more.
He placed another trusty man on duty, ready to give the alarm if the mutineers woke and tried to break out, and then proposed that we should all go into the captain's cabin and have a council of war once more. "Think he can bear it, Frewen?" he said. "Oh yes, if we do not stay too long. It will rouse him up and do him good mentally, to feel that he has some interest in the management of the ship."
"No; but I do wish you to attend to our wounded." "Ah! I had forgotten that," said Mr Frewen, hastily bestirring himself. "Here, some one cried out when one of those shots was fired, and again I heard an exclamation just now." "It was Walters who was hit first," I said, from where I knelt in the bottom of the boat. "Where is he? Somewhere forward?" "No; here," I said. "Has any one matches?
Castle Frewen, as the superior log building was facetiously called by the Americans, was 212 miles from Rock Creek station, and we were well pleased upon arrival to accept their thoroughly appreciated hospitality.
Just fancy, Mr Frewen, dropping a bagful into the forecastle with a fuse attached and lit; how they would run for the hatch, and before they could reach it bang!" "Yes, with that part of the deck blown up and a dozen or so of wretched mutilated creatures lying about shrieking for help. Well, Dale, I dare say there is one of the bags somewhere about the cabins, but I don't think you could use it."
"Yes, I understand," said Mr Frewen, and he hurried towards the saloon. "Aren't we going to try and put out the fire, Mr Brymer, sir?" said Bob Hampton. "No, my lad; we'll leave that to Jarette and his gang. Come and help." By this time we had reached the cabin-door, from beneath which the faint light shone, and Mr Frewen exclaimed "Are you there, Miss Denning?" "Yes, yes," she cried eagerly.
"Captain Ryan" thanked him, and said he would at once go down, see how the injured man was getting on, and would send for him in ten minutes or so. Meanwhile would Mr. Frewen join Mr. Foster in a glass of wine.
Mr Frewen and I were both too weak and faint from the terrible shock we had had, to do anything that day but lie back and rest, my place being chosen close to the hole I had bored, so that I could be ready to answer Mr Preddle's questions, which were constantly coming, and to listen to his lamentations about his fish about the trouble he had taken, the water which must be drying till, as I lay back there with my ear close to a second hole which I had bored lower down, every now and then from pain, heat, and the consequent faintness, I kept on dropping into a curious half-dreamy state, in which I seemed to be watching Mr Preddle's fish swimming about with their fat little mouths gasping at the surface of the water, and all looking as if they were so many hundreds of tiny Preddles asking me to get them out of prison.
For an hour Frewen kept up the chase, and then the ship signalled for all the boats to return, for the wind and sea were increasing, and it was useless for them to attempt to overtake the whales, which were now miles to windward.
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