I call it shameful and inhuman!"
The French captain laughed as Jacques translated the speech, the
purport of which he had, indeed, made out for himself, for although he
did not speak English he understood it to some extent.
"Tell him it was his fault as much as ours. We did not see him till we
struck him. And as for his companion, what chance was there of finding
him on such a dark night as this? Why, by the time we had hove round
and got back again we might not have hit it within a quarter of a
mile. Besides, if he had been alive he would have shouted."
Ralph saw, when he understood what the captain said, that there was
truth in his words, and that the chances of discovering Joe would
indeed have been slight even had the vessel headed round.
"May I ask," he said, "what ship this is, and what you are going to do
with me?"
"The ship is La Belle Marie of Dunkirk; as to what we are going to do
with you it is not so easy to say. Of course you can jump overboard
again if you like, but if not you can stay on board until we have an
opportunity of putting you ashore somewhere. How did you come to be on
board a fishing smack? For I suppose it was a smack that we run down."
"I live at Dover," Ralph replied, "and had only come out for a night's
fishing."
"Well, you are out of luck," the captain said.
Pages:
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70