"At your service, Mr Herrick," he said, "when you want me; and, by the way, my lad, your messmate Barkins has got that idea in his head still, about the poisoned blade. Try and laugh him out of it. Thoughts like that hinder progress, and it is all nonsense. His is a good, clean, healthy wound." He passed on, looking very business-like, and his dresser followed, while I went on to see Smith. "Good, clean, healthy wound!" I said to myself; "I believe he takes delight in such things." I turned back to look after him, but he was gone. "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.