Violet Jacob > Flemington

146 ;flemington
“ I have no leisure for business to-night,” he
said. “This is not the time for it.”
“All the same, I have orders from Perth to
report myself to you; as I have told you already,’’
said Archie. “ If you will listen, I will try to
make myself clear without troubling you to read
anything. I have information to give which you
should hear at once.”
“ I tell you that I cannot attend to you,” said
Hall.
“ I shall not keep you long. You do not realize
that it is important, sir.”
“ Am I to be dictated to ?” exclaimed the other,
raising his voice. “ This is my own ship, Mr.
Flem—Fling—FI ”
The name presented so much difficulty to Hall
that it died away in a tangled murmur, and
Archie saw that to try to make him understand
anything important in his present state would be
labour lost.
“Well, sir,” said he, “I will tell you at once
that I suspect an attack on you is brewing in
Montrose. I believe that it may happen at any
moment. Having delivered myself of that, I had
best leave you.”
The word “attack” found its way to the
captain’s brain.
“ It’s impossible!” he exclaimed crossly. “ Why,
plague on’t, I’ve got all the town guns! Non¬
sense, sir—no’sense! Come, I will call for a
bottle of wine, ’n you can go. There’s an empty
bunk, I s’pose.”