Wilks waiting in a state of intense nervousness for the arrival of the
others.

Captain Nugent was the first to put in an appearance, and by way of
setting a good example poured a little of the whisky in his glass and sat
there waiting. Then Jack Nugent came in, fresh and glowing, and Mr.
Wilks, after standing about helplessly for a few moments, obeyed the
captain's significant nod and joined Mr. Smith in the kitchen.

"You'd better go for a walk," said that gentle-man, regarding him kindly;
"that's wot the cap'n thought."

Mr. Wilks acquiesced eagerly, and tapping at the door passed through the
room again into the street. A glance as he went through showed him that
Jack Nugent was drinking, and he set off in a panic to get away from the
scene which he had contrived.

He slackened after a time and began to pace the streets at a rate which
was less noticeable. As he passed the Kybirds' he shivered, and it was
not until he had consumed a pint or two of the strongest brew procurable
at the _Two Schooners_ that he began to regain some of his old
self-esteem. He felt almost maudlin at the sacrifice of character he was
enduring for the sake of his old master, and the fact that he could not
narrate it to sympathetic friends was not the least of his troubles.

[Illustration: "It was not until he had consumed a pint or two of the
strongest brew that he began to regain some of his old self-esteem."]

The shops had closed by the time he got into the street again, and he
walked down and watched with much solemnity the reflection of the quay