"'Well,' said the marine, ''twas pretty queer if he took the _Pedarkis_ for the ship to carry him there. I don't think the captain would let a rat into the island if he could help it' 'Not he,' said the steward; 'plenty on 'em in already, Vite, my man--I do think they used to swim off on board here, by the way our cheese vent.' All this time I never stirred from the port, watching with my chin on the muzzle of the gun till the Indiaman was half-a-mile to windward of us, her big hull still rising and falling on the same swells, topped with clusters of heads; her topsails lowered in honour of the flag, the ensign blowing out half-mast high for the death of Captain Williamson; a long wash of the water ran outside the brig's timbers, surge after surge, and the plunge at her bows showed how fast she began to run nor'-westward before the wind. You may well fancy my state, after all I'd done for weeks; in fact, one scarce knew the extent of what he'd felt, what he'd looked forward to, till he found himself fairly adrift from it; 'twould even have been nothing, after all, could I just have thought of Violet Hyde as I'd done two hours ago, on waking with last night in the river on my mind. "As it was, 'twould have taken little to make me jump out of the port into the sweep of blue water swelling toward the brig's counter; the _Seringapatam_ being by this time astern. I couldn't even see her, or aught save the horizon, to windward; but at this moment the young second lieutenant came below, and, seeing me, he began in a polite enough way, with a kindly manner about it, trying to raise my spirits. 'I suppose, sir,' said I, rather sulkily I daresay, 'I can have a berth just now?' 'Oh, certainly,' said he, 'the steward has orders to see to it at once. Will you come on deck a minute or two in the meantime, sir?'