Sir John nodded and walked away, to go and stand by himself looking out to sea. "Whew!" whistled the captain, turning to the doctor. "I hope I haven't offended our chief." "Offended him? no," said the doctor, taking his arm and walking him off in the other direction. "It's all right, captain. You spoke out the truth, and he'll tell you before the day's out that he is obliged. Poor fellow! he is very tender-hearted about his boy. Lost the lad's mother, you see, and he worships him. But you're quite right, my plan's good, and I shall bring him back a healthy man." "You shall, doctor, for we'll all try and help you; there!" CHAPTER TEN. JACK BEGINS TO COME ROUND. "Oh dear, I do feel so ashamed of myself," said the doctor at breakfast that morning. "Edward, bring me another egg, and some more of that ham." "Well, sir, if you do," said the captain, smiling, "I ought to be, but I'm not. More coffee, Sir John?" "Thanks, no, I'm taking tea. Jack, my boy, will you try another cup?" The lad hesitated for a moment, and then drew aside for Edward to refill his cup, with which he had been eating sparingly of some well-made toast. "Find that rather stale, Mr Jack?" said the captain. "No; it is very nice," said the lad. "Ah, the toasting takes it off. Four days out. That's as long as we go with the same bread. Begin making our own to-morrow." Just then Edward handed Doctor Instow a goodly rasher of broiled ham, upon which was a perfectly poached egg; and directly after the man came round behind Jack, and quietly placed before him, with a whisper of warning that the plate was very hot, another rasher of ham, and at the first sight of it the lad began to shrink, but at the second glance, consequent upon a brave desire not to show his repugnance, he saw that it was a different kind of rasher to the doctor's, and that there was no egg. It was small and crisp and thin, of a most beautiful brown, with scarcely any fat, and showing not a drop in the hot plate. There was a peculiar aroma, too, rising from it, grateful and appetising, and after sipping at his fresh hot cup of tea--the second--twice, Jack broke off another fragment of his crisp toast and ate it slowly. A minute passed away, his four companions eating in sea-going fashion, which is rather costly to the person that caters, and they were talking aloud meantime, but every one present made a point of not taking the slightest notice of the sensitive lad. That hot tea at the first mouthful of the first cup was nauseating, and Jack glanced toward the door and waited before venturing upon a second. But that second mouthful was not so bad, and it seemed to him that the captain certainly had good tea provided. Then Jack had broken off a scrap of the brown toast and eaten it, feeling at the end of a minute or two that he had never before known what well-made toast was like.