ust. "Don't
try and excuse yourself; it only makes matters much worse! I don't mind
your knocking the lad down, and I daresay Leigh would forgive you for
that, too; but what I am indignant at is the fact of your telling such a
gross lie about the transaction, and allowing me to take an unjust view
of the quarrel--making me disrate the young fellow, and punish him as I
did, under a false, impression of what his conduct had been, all of
which a word from you might have altered! Besides, just think how in
your conceited ignorance you nearly wrecked the ship and sacrificed all
our lives through your refusal to take a hint from the lad as to our
position. Why, I don't mind receiving a suggestion from the humblest
foremast hand any day!"

"But--" put in the mate again, trying to defend himself.

His appeal, however, was in vain, for the skipper would not listen to
him for a moment.

"You had better go below, Mr Macdougall," he said. "I cannot speak
calmly to you now, and the sooner you're out of my sight the better for
you! But stop a minute," he added, as if on after reflection. "As you
were present when I disrated Leigh--on the ground mainly of your false
statements as to his having assaulted you without any provocation on
your part, which has now been proved to have been false--it is only
right that you should also be present at the restoration of the lad to
his former post. Leigh!"

"Here, sir," I replied to this last hail of the skipper's, on his
completing his reprimand to the mate. I anticipated, of course, what
was coming, and my heart gave an exultant thump, almost "leaping into my
mouth," as the saying is.

"I'm sorry, my boy, I did you a wrong this afternoon," said Captain
Billings, stretching out his hand kindly to me as he spoke. "I hope,
however, you'll forgive me, and bear no malice. I now wish you to
return to your duties as acting second mate in Mr Ohlsen's place until
he's fit and well again; and I trust you'll have no further
disagreements with any of the officers of the ship."

"Thank you, sir," I answered respectfully, accepting the hand he offered
and giving it a cordial shake. "I will be very careful of my conduct in
future, and I'm sorry for being impertinent to Mr Macdougall--"

I turned here towards where the first mate had been standing; but he had
disappeared, so the skipper accepted the apology I intended for him, on
his behalf in his absence, making short my _amende honorable_