'O let me lie down upon
the bieldy side,' he cried; 'O dinna take me down!' And again: 'O
why did ever I come upon this miserable voyage?' And yet once
more, with a gasp and a wailing prolongation of the fourth word:
'I had no CALL to come.' But there he was; and by the doctor's
orders and the kind force of his two shipmates disappeared down the
companion of Steerage No.1 into the den allotted him.
At the foot of our own companion, just where I found Blackwood,
Jones and the bo's'un were now engaged in talk. This last was a
gruff, cruel-looking seaman, who must have passed near half a
century upon the seas; square-headed, goat-bearded, with heavy
blond eyebrows, and an eye without radiance, but inflexibly steady
and hard. I had not forgotten his rough speech; but I remembered
also that he had helped us about the lantern; and now seeing him in
conversation with Jones, and being choked with indignation, I
proceeded to blow off my steam.
'Well,' said I, 'I make you my compliments upon your steward,' and
furiously narrated what had happened.
'I've nothing to do with him,' replied the bo's'un. 'They're all
alike. They wouldn't mind if they saw you all lying dead one upon
the top of another.'
This was enough.
