I replied. "It wasn't out when I came away. Arn't
you glad?"

"Glad?" he said with a groan.

"Oh, well, it was all your doing. Feel proud, don't you?"

His eyes gazed fully in mine, and their lock said plainly, "I'm weak,
helpless, and in misery. I'm full of repentance too, now. Don't,
don't, pray, cast my sins in my face."

But somehow my tongue seemed to be out of my control. I wanted to take
pity on him, and to do all I could to make his position more bearable,
but all the time I kept on attacking him with the sharpest and most
bitter reproaches.

"You ought to be proud," I said. "You can lie there and think that
through your blackguards the ship has been blown up, and is now burning,
and would burn to the water's edge if we couldn't stop it. The captain
looks as if he were dying; you are nearly killed; you've nearly killed
poor Mr Denning, who came this voyage for the benefit of his health;
you have had Miss Denning insulted and exposed to no end of dangers;
poor old Neb Dumlow has a shot in him; and we've been treated more like
dogs than anything else; while now your beautiful friends have turned
upon you, and left you to be burned in the ship they have set on fire,
for aught they care. Yes; you ought to be proud of your work."

He groaned, and I felt as if I should like to bite my tongue off, as I
wondered how I could have said such bitter things.

"I say, don't faint," I cried, and leaned over him, and sprinkled his
face with water, for his eyelids had drooped, and a terribly ghastly
look came over his face. But even as I tried to bring him to, I felt as
if I were only doing so to make him hear my reproaches once more.

He opened his eyes after a few moments, and looked up at me.

"Here," I said roughly; "I'd better fetch the doctor to you."

"What for?" he cried. "He will only try and save my life, when it would
be better for me to die out of the way. I want to die. How can I face
people at home again? No, no, don't fetch him. It's all over. There
is no hope for me now."

"Can I help you, Walters?" said Miss Denning, suddenly appearing at the
door-way; and as I looked at her bright gentle face, with my wretched
messmate's words still ringing in my ears, I could not help thinking
that there must be hope even for such a cowardly traitor as he had
proved, when she was here ready to help him and forgive all the past.

"Yes, Miss Denning, I think you can," I said very clumsily, I know.
"