Читать книгу List, Ye Landsmen!. A Romance of Incident онлайн

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“Sir,” cried I, “are you the officer in command here?”

“Never you mind! Heave ahead, lads; steer a straight course for the boat.”

In a moment the whole body of us were in motion. A seaman on either hand grasped me by the arm, and immediately behind were the other two pressed men.

“Tom Martin,” I roared out, hoping that the old fellow might yet be within hearing; “you see what has happened. For God’s sake report to Captain Round.”

“Who’s that bawling?” angrily and huskily shouted the young officer in the pea-coat.

I marched for a few paces in silence, mad and degraded; bewildered, too; nay, I may say confounded almost to distraction by the hurry of the astonishing experiences which I had encountered within the last hour.

“What ship do you belong to?” I presently said, addressing a big bull-faced man who guarded me on the left.

“The frigate out yonder,” he answered in a deep, wary voice; “keep a civil tongue in your head and give no trouble, and what’s wrong will be righted, if wrong there be,” and he looked at me by the light of a second lamp that the company of us was tramping past.