"
"That's natural enough," James laughed, "because I came best out of
it."
To Richard Horton, the news that James Walsham was about to undertake a
desperate enterprise, which, if he succeeded in it, would bring him
great honour and credit, was bitter in the extreme, and the admiration
expressed by the other officers, at his courage in undertaking it,
added to his anger and disgust. He walked moodily up and down the
quarterdeck all the afternoon, to think the matter over, and at each
moment his fury increased. Could he in any way have put a stop to the
adventure, he would instantly have done so, but there was no possible
way of interfering.
The thought that annoyed him most was of the enthusiasm with which the
news of the successful termination of the enterprise would be received
at Sidmouth. Already, as he knew, Aggie regarded James as a hero, and
the squire was almost as proud of his mention in despatches as if he
had been his own son; but for this he cared but little. It was Aggie's
good opinion Richard Horton desired to gain. James Walsham still
thought of her as the girl of twelve he had last seen, but Richard
Horton knew her as almost a woman, and, although at first he had
resolved to marry her as his uncle's heiress, he now really cared for
her for herself.
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