surlily. Then showing his teeth, he said in a
peculiar tone of voice--"They say it's kill or cure with your set; let
it be cure this time, or perhaps it may be kill afterwards. Come on.
Go in there."

He signed to a man acting as sentry by one of the doors well aft, and
the man drew back while Frewen brushed by the scoundrel who held it
open, and entered quickly, I following ready to do everything I could to
help.

I entered that cabin fully expecting to see Miss Denning lying bleeding
on the floor, and I am sure that this was Mr Frewen's impression; but
to the surprise of both it was a totally different person, for there lay
the captain in one corner, his head slightly raised, staring at us
wildly as he held one hand pressed to his shoulder, and his eyes were so
fixed that for the moment I was ready to think that he was passing away.
But a faint smile came upon his face as he looked up at the doctor, and
then he smiled at me.

I darted a look full of horror and sympathy at him, and then closed the
door, while as I turned I saw that the woodwork side of the cabin was
marked by a bullet, for so I took it to be, which had splintered the
board all round a good-sized hole.

Mr Frewen went down on one knee by the captain, and took the hand which
rested on his shoulder, pressed it, and then began to examine the
injury.

"Come and help me, Dale," he said; "we must get him in a different
position."

"Perhaps--I can help," said the captain faintly. "The scoundrel shot
me."

"Don't try to talk," said Mr Frewen, quickly. "Wait till I have
bandaged the wound."

But as he spoke I noticed how he watched Captain Berriman, and seemed to
take special heed of him as he whispered the above words evidently with
pain.

"Is it very bad, doctor?" he whispered now after Mr Frewen had been
busy about his breast, and shoulder for a few minutes. "You can tell
me, I can bear it."

"Bad enough, but not so bad as it might have been if it had gone an inch
lower. But keep quiet, talking will only distress you, and tend to make
you feverish. There," he said at last, "there will be no more bleeding,
and that was the only danger to apprehend."

By this time the captain was lying in an easy position, carefully
bandaged and apparently suffering less.

"He came in--"

"Hush! don't tell me; I know--as he did to us with inviting
propositions. We heard your angry words, and the coward shot at you.
But that shriek, surely it was Miss