"The hard-featured Scotch mate stood holding the captain's wrist with one clumsy flipper, as if trying to feel his pulse, fumbling about his own face with the other, and looking more concerned than I'd thought possible for him. 'Well, I've slept--a good deal,' said the captain, in a weak voice, putting up his hand slowly to rub his eyes, but seemingly quite composed, and knowing nothing of what had happened--which rid me of the horrid notion I could scarce help before, that he had known what he was about. His head was close shaved, and the look of a sailor clean gone off his face with the bluff, honest oak-colour it commonly had, till you'd have wished him decently in his bed thousands of miles off, with women slipping out and in; only the blood from his arm hanging down on the sheet, with the sharp point of his nose and the shape of his knees coming up off the shadow, kept it all in one with the wild affair on deck a few hours gone.
"'She's on her course, you say?' added he, listlessly. 'Must be a _very_ light breeze though, Mr Macleod.' 'So it is, sir; so it is, no doubt!' replied the second mate, soothing him; 'did ye say we'll _pent_ the ship, sir?' 'Ay, before we go into port, Mr Macleod, to be sure,' said Captain Williamson, trying to put a cheerful tone into his voice; 'she's had a good deal of buffeting, but we mustn't let 'em see it, you know! Didn't you lose a mizzen-topmast somehow, though, Mr Macleod?' ''Deed ay, sir,' said Macleod, hastily, afraid he was getting upon the scent of what had happened; 'the first officer's watch it was, sir--will _I_ tell Mr Finch ye're wanting to speak to him about it, Captain Williamson?' and he began to shuffle towards the door.
"'Finch? Finch?' said the sick man, passing his finger over his eyes again; 'what voyage _is_ this, Mr Macleod?' 'Why--why,' said the Scotchman, starting, and rather puzzled himself. 'Oo, it's just _this_ voyage, ye know, sir! Mr Finch, ye mind, sir?' 'No, no; don't let him leave the deck for a moment, Macleod!' said the captain, anxiously: 'harkye, James, I'm afraid I've trusted overmuch to the young man all along! I'll tell ye, Mr Macleod, I don't know whether I was asleep or not, but I _heard_ him somewhere wishing he had the command of this ship! I shouldn't like him to take her off my hands! Have you seen the Scilly lights yet, Mr Macleod?'