Then he stopped, with his mouth opening and shutting; and as I stared at him, I could not help thinking how like he was to one of his fish. "Yes," I said; "you were going to say something." "Eh? Was I?" he said, looking quite red in the face, and uneasy. "Oh, it was nothing--nothing--I--er--I hardly know what I was about to say. Yes, I do," he cried, desperately; "I remember now. You were close to us this morning when Mr Denning spoke to me. Did you hear what he said?" "No, I was too far off," I replied; "but he seemed to be speaking snappishly." "Yes, he does sometimes; I'm afraid that he does not like me." "You worry him," I thought to myself, "by hanging about him so, and talking to Miss Denning when he wants her to read to him." "Yes?" said Mr Preddle; "what were you thinking?" "Oh, about what you said. He is irritable, you know, from bad health." "Yes," he said, quite in a whisper, "irritable from bad health, poor fellow." He stood with the little landing-net in his hand, gazing down into the trough nearest to us as if watching the little trout; but his thoughts were, I dare say, of something else, and I did not like to disturb him, but stood giving a side look now and then at him, but for the most part watching his charge, and thinking how thoroughly man had imitated the shape of a fish in making a ship, even to the tail to steer it with. Then all at once I looked up, for there were voices outside, and I knew it was Jarette the Frenchman saying something very earnestly to Walters. I did not hear what either of them said, for they spoke in a very low tone, and in French. But I caught just the last words which were uttered by Jarette, and they were these-- "Mais prenez-garde, mon ami. Prenez-garde." Then they had passed on, and all was silent again, with Mr Preddle still watching the fish. "`But take care, my friend, take care.' That's what he said," I thought to myself; "I know French enough for that. Take care of what? And why does he call Walters `my friend'? He's only a common sailor, and a midshipman even in a merchantman oughtn't to be friends in that way with the men." Then I laughed silently to myself as I thought of how fond I was of leaning over the bulwarks and talking to old Bob Hampton when he had the watch, and listening to his sea-tales about storms and pirates. "How ready one is to find fault with people one doesn't like," I said to myself. "I beg your pardon," said Mr Preddle. "I didn't speak, sir." "No; but I had gone into a brown study. There, the fish will do now."