u sorry for them?" Haggart frowns.

"Yes, I am sorry for them. But my pity is my hatred, Haggart. I hate
them, and I would kill them, more and more!"

"I feel like flying faster--my soul is so free. Let us jest, Mariet!
Here is a riddle, guess it: For whom will the cannons roar soon? You
think, for me? No. For you? no, no, not for you, Mariet! For little
Noni, for him--for little Noni who is boarding the ship to-night. Let
him wake up from this thunder. How our little Noni will be surprised!
And now be quiet, quiet--don't disturb his sleep--don't spoil little
Noni's awakening."

The sound of voices is heard--a crowd is approaching.

"Where is the captain?"

"Here. Halt, the captain is here!"

"It's all done. They can be crammed into a basket like herrings."

"Our boatswain is a brave fellow! A jolly man."

Khorre, intoxicated and jolly, shouts:

"Not so loud, devils! Don't you see that the captain is here? They
scream like seagulls over a dead dolphin."

Mariet steps aside a little distance, where little Noni is sleeping.

KHORRE--Here we are, Captain. No losses, Captain. And how we laughed,
Noni.

HAGGART--You got drunk rather early. Come to the point.

KHORRE--Very well. The thing is done, Captain. We've picked up all our
money--not worse than the imperial tax collectors. I could not tell
which was ours, so I picked up all the money. But if they have buried
some of the gold, forgive us, Captain--we are not peasants to plough the
ground.

Laughter. Haggart also laughs.

"Let them sow, we shall reap."

"Golden words, Noni. Eh, Tommy, listen to what the Captain is saying.
And another thing: Whether you will be angry or not--I have broken the
music. I have scattered it in small pieces. Show your pipe, Tetyu! Do
you see, Noni, I didn't do it at once, no. I told him to play a jig, and
he said that he couldn't do it. Then he lost his mind and ran away. They
all lost their minds there, Captain. Eh, Tommy, show your beard. An old
woman tore half of his beard out, Captain--now he is a disgrace to look
upon. Eh, Tommy! He has hidden himself, he's ashamed to show his face,
Captain. And there's another thing: The priest is coming here."

Mariet exclaims:

"Father!"

Khorre, astonished, asks:

"Are you here? If she came to complain, I must report to you,
Captain--the priest almost killed one of our sailors. And she, too. I
ordered the men to bind the priest--"

"Silence."

"I don't understand your acti