Читать книгу Lieutenant Hornblower онлайн

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The captain went on reading.

"And if any person shall utter any words of sedition or mutiny he shall suffer death....

"And if any officer, mariner, or soldier shall behave himself with contempt to his superior officer..."

Those words had a fuller meaning for Bush now, with Hornblower looking down at him; he felt a strange stirring within him. He looked at the captain, unkempt and seedy in his appearance, and went back in his memory through the events of the past few days; if ever a man had shown himself unfit for duty it was the captain, but he was maintained in his position of unlimited power by these Articles of War which he was reading. Bush glanced up at Hornblower again; he felt that he knew for certain what Hornblower was thinking about as he stood there by the quarterdeck rail, and it was strange to feel this sympathy with the ungainly angular young lieutenant with whom he had had such little contact.

"And if any officer, mariner, or soldier or other person in the fleet"--the captain had reached the Twenty-Second Article now--"shall presume to quarrel with any of his superior officers, or shall disobey any lawful command, every such person shall suffer death."