Captain Barrett looked at the doctor with a slight sneer and said: ‘We’ll not talk of bringing Barney Abram aft: we’ll talk of Barney Abram as he is. Pity so much talent should go wrong. Transport your felonious clergy, attorneys, farmers, medical men,’ he added, with a significant look at the doctor, ‘there’d always then be too many to spare. But to send such a prize-fighter as Barney Abram out of the kingdom! To ship him into a country where there’ll be nobody to appreciate him! By Heaven, it’s as bad as robbing the crown of England of a jewel!’ The captain, observing that the doctor did not like this talk, changed the subject by speaking of the fine progress the ship was making. At this moment I was sent to the pantry by the steward. When I returned, I heard Lieutenant Chimmo say: ‘What would those chaps under hatches give for a taste of that curried fowl! Your cook’s a neat hand, captain.’ ‘The provisions served out to the convicts are infernally bad,’ said Captain Barrett. ‘“They are not good, but they may be eaten,” as Charles XII. said to the soldier who showed him some mouldy pieces of bread,’ exclaimed the doctor. ‘At such a table as this,’ said Lieutenant Chimmo, ‘a man can take a philosophic view of the tastes and appetites of people who are ill-fed.’ ‘Convicts are as well fed as sailors,’ said Captain Sutherland. ‘I’d rather be a convict than a sailor,’ said Captain Barrett. ‘One’s t’other more often than not,’ observed Lieutenant Chimmo. ‘’Stonishing what a lot of rascals sail afore the mast!’ ‘Take care that whisper don’t get forward of the main-hatch sentry,’ said the captain, with a glance at the steward. ‘Jack’s got a sensitive side to his nature.’ ‘Doctor, what’s to be the routine when decent weather sets in?’ inquired Captain Barrett. ‘Schools, Bible classes, and frequent prayer-meetings, sir,’ answered the doctor. ‘Don’t educate them,’ said Lieutenant Chimmo. ‘They’re very bad now; education’ll make them worse.’ ‘I’m with Chimmo,’ said Captain Barrett. ‘Doctor, I’ll wager you what you will that the worst of your people are those who are most intelligent and best educated.’ The doctor made no answer. ‘I must state this as a fact,’ said Captain Sutherland, with a side look at the doctor, as though distrusting his topic: ‘Mr. Bates, my chief officer, recognised one of the convicts. His name--’ The doctor made a motion with his hand. ‘Well, enough if I say,’ exclaimed the captain, stammering, ‘that this same man is a person of excellent antecedents, was for years at sea, and held several posts of trust, and finally wound up a flourishing career by investing his savings in a smart little barque for no other purpose than to scuttle her that he might pocket about triple the amount of his venture in insurance money.’