d tell him plainly that he will be answerable for your death, should
he insist on your doing duty any longer."

Esdale still pleaded, but the doctor was peremptory.

"It is his only chance," he said to me; "I cannot promise that he will
live. He will, however, certainly die if he is exposed to this biting
wind and constant rain. I intend to tell the captain, but you, Trawl,
go and stay with him whenever you can; it will cheer him up, poor
fellow, to have someone to talk to, and that dull Horner cannot speak
two words of sense."

Before the doctor had time to do as he proposed, Captain Hawkins,
missing Esdale from the deck, ordered me to tell him to come up.

This I determined not to do, for it was blowing hard at the time from
the south-west and the wind would have chilled him through in a minute.
I, however, went below, and after remaining a little time, I returned,
and said--

"Esdale is very ill, sir, and is not fit to come on deck."

"How do you know that, youngster?" asked the captain, in an angry tone.

"Dr Cockle has seen him and says so," I answered boldly.

"Tell him to come up, or I'll send a couple of hands to bring him neck
and crop," thundered the captain.

I was as determined as before not to tell Esdale, knowing that he would
come if sent for.

"Go below and bring up that lazy young rascal," shouted the captain to
Tom Ringold and another man standing near him.

I immediately dived below to persuade Tom to let Esdale remain in his
bunk.

"It will be his death if he is exposed to this weather," I said.

"I am not the fellow to kill a shipmate if I can help it," answered Tom.
"Tell him to stay and I'll take the consequences."

When Tom returned on deck, the captain enquired in a fierce voice why he
had not carried out his orders.

"Because he is too ill to be moved, Captain Hawkins," answered Tom,
promptly.

The captain, uttering an oath, and taking a coil of rope in his hand,
was just about to go below when Doctor Cockle came on deck, and
guessing, from the few words he heard, what was the captain's intention,
came up to him and said--

"It would kill the lad to bring him up, and as he is my patient, I have
told him to stay below."

"Am I to be thwarted and insulted on board my own ship?" cried the
captain. "Whether he is ill or well, up he comes."

And going down to the half-deck, he asked Esdale why he had not obeyed
his orders.

Esdale, of course, had not received them, and s