"Of
all the perils which mariners must face, whoever heard of a ship's
company being brought to their doom by floating kelp?"
I told him of the sea of which I had read, and which I believed we had
come to. He listened to me with patience, and then relapsed into a
reverie, from which I found it impossible to arouse him.
On coming on deck I detected Van Luck at his old game of sowing discord
among the men. They did not, however, appear to pay much attention to
what he said. He had now no authority over them, and none but Janstins
and Bantum, who were with us on this second voyage, remembered him as
the first officer of the "Endraght". The ingratitude of the man,
however, after the consideration we had shown him, angered me, and I
spoke to him roughly, and ordered him to quit the deck.
"Take heed," I warned him, "that I do not have you put in irons, or
sent adrift upon a second voyage."
Van Luck obeyed me with a scowl, and slunk below, but I could see an
evil light in his eyes which I attributed to madness, though I was
subsequently to learn there was much method in it. I did not like to
add to Hartog's anxieties by telling him of Van Luck's conduct, and,
indeed, when I considered our present predicament, it seemed unlikely
that Van Luck, or anybody else, could do us much harm or good.
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