Part 9 (2/2)
”What do you think, sir, left in charge as you are?” returned the ent like you to give orders about, but I can't see no way out of it We did our best to save him, and now it don't seeood to hi pardon, sir, no offence iving me my orders”
Mark was silent, and tried to think out the matter calmly and with reason, but his head throbbed and burned, and all kinds of thoughts of other things kept on coht, till it was as if he could think of everything else but the subject of such great ih, he leaned over the side, and bathed his throbbing terees, the beating ceased, and the power to think calht, Tom Fillot?” he said
”I'm sure it would, sir”
”No, no, I couldn't do it,” cried the boy, excitedly; ”it seeing your pardon,” said the ly to see how calrown to be now
”No, no, I dare not Here, I'll speak to Mr Russell”
”Do, sir; but I'one for that”
Mark went down on his knees by his officer and took his hand Then, placing his lips close to the stricken ive hi but a peevish , as the lieutenant tossed his head from side to side
”What I told you, sir”
”Then I'll ask Dance,” cried Mark ”He is over you men, and I cannot do this without some one to share the responsibility”
”Try him, sir; but he's quite off his head, and if he says do, his advice ain't worth having, for he'll never know he said it”
All the same, in his terrible perplexity, Mark crawled over the thwarts and between the ht forward, with his head resting against the pole of his hitcher; but in spite of appeal after appeal the man lay with his eyes fixed, quite insensible to every word addressed to him, and the midshi+pman crept back to where Tom Fillot sat
”I'm nobody, sir, only a common man afore the mast, so it's like impidence for ent like you But being half as old again, I ht to do in a case like this; and I say that as you're now in command, sir, it's your duty to us, as well as to the dead”
”No, no,” groaned Mark ”We may be overtaken by the shi+p at any time”
”Look here; it's of no use for you to shrink from it Recollect where we are You must”
But still Mark shook his head
”It ain't as if we could do hiood, sir”
”But without Christian burial, Tom Fillot”
”He warn't a Christian, sir,” said the sailor, slowly ”I'norant man, but I've heerd say that you were a parson's son, sir, and knohat's right to do at such a tih, rose in the boat, and looked round hiloom in search of help out of his difficulty; but the moon was hidden by a black cloud, and look which way he would there was naught but the thick darkness heh he turned back to where the sailor sat waiting, n, and then sank upon his knees in the botto for the first fewof loneliness had passed away, and fir at heart, he raised his head, and n to his companion, who had followed his example, and who now rose and stepped over to the very stern of the boat, to stand with his back to his young officer Then as he bent down it seerownnoise, and a soft plunge in the black water, followed by a faint rippling whisper against the sides Directly after the moon appeared from behind the thick mass of clouds and shed a path of silver over the sea, till it flooded the part where the cutter lay; and as Mark Vandean knelt there, he saw To before him with the Union Jack in his hand