Пятнадцатилетний капитан / Dick Sand. A Captain at Fifteen. Уровень 2

Early on the morning of the 12th, Dick noted that the barometer now registered only 27.9В°. Dick Sand became more uneasy than ever. The next moment Negoro appeared on deck; he pointed mysteriously to the horizon. The he looked round with a malevolent smile, and immediately left the deck, and went back to his cabin.

Chapter XII

The Island

The wind now increased to a hurricane; it veered to the south-west, and attained a velocity of ninety miles an hour. The progress of the schooner was prodigiously rapid; sometimes, indeed, it was literally lifted from the water.

The rolling was fearful. Enormous waves travelled faster than the ship. Dick lashed himself to his place at the wheel by a rope round his waist. Tom and Bat were ready to give him assistance, in case of emergency. Mrs. Weldon remained inside the stern cabin.

The hatchways were hermetically closed. Tom and Bat were left alone at the wheel. To their surprise, Negoro joined them. He inclined to enter into conversation, but found Tom and his son did not answer him.

All at once a violent roll of the ship threw him off his feet, and he fell against the binnacle.

Old Tom uttered a cry of consternation so loud that it roused Dick from the light slumber in the cabin, and he rushed to the deck. Negoro regained his feet, and managed successfully to extract the bit of iron from beneath the binnacle. Then he threw it away.

“What’s the matter?” asked Dick; “what is the meaning of all this noise?”

Tom said that the cook fell against the binnacle.

Was the compass injured? Dick knelt down to examine its condition. Happily, the instrument had no damage. But Dick was quite unconscious of the removal of the bit of iron. The incident, however, excited his misgiving. The very presence of Negoro in such a place at such a time perplexed him.

“And what brings you here, this hour of the night?” he asked.

“That’s not your business”, retorted Negoro insolently.

“It is my business,” replied Dick resolutely; “and I need an answer; what brought you here?”

“I go where I like and when I like”, answered Negoro. “There is no rule that forbids it.”

“No rule!” cried Dick; “then I make the rule now. From this time forward, I make the rule that you never come astern. Do you understand?”

Negoro made a threatening movement. Quick as lightning, Dick Sand drew a revolver from his pocket.