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08 - Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter eight, The round House. One night, about eleven o'clock,
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  Speaker 1: a man of mister Riach's watch, which was on deck,
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  Speaker 1: came below for his jacket, and instantly there began to
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  Speaker 1: go a whisper about the forecastle that Shuan had done
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  Speaker 1: for him. At last there was no need of a name.
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  Speaker 1: We all knew who was meant, but we had scarce
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  Speaker 1: time to get the idea rightly in our heads, far
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  Speaker 1: less to speak of it. When the scuttle was again
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  Speaker 1: flung open and Captain Hoseason came down the ladder, he
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  Speaker 1: looked sharply round the bunks in the tossing light of
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  Speaker 1: the lantern, and then walking straight up to me, he
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  Speaker 1: addressed me, to my surprise in tones of kindness. By
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  Speaker 1: man said he we want ye to serve in the
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  Speaker 1: round house. You and Ransom are to change berths, run
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  Speaker 1: away aft with ye. Even as he spoke, two seamen
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  Speaker 1: appeared in the scuttle, carrying Ransom in their arms, and
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  Speaker 1: the ship at that moment giving a great sheer into
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  Speaker 1: the sea, and the lantern swinging. The light fell direct
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  Speaker 1: on the boy's face. It was white as wax and
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  Speaker 1: had a look upon it like a dreadful smile. The
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  Speaker 1: blood in me ran cold. I drew in my breath
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  Speaker 1: as if I had been struck. Run Away aft, run
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  Speaker 1: away aft with you, cried Hoseason, And at that I
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  Speaker 1: brushed by the sailors and the boy, who neither spoke
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  Speaker 1: nor moved, and ran up the ladder. On deck, the
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  Speaker 1: brig was sheering swiftly and giddily through a long, cresting swell.
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  Speaker 1: She was on the starboard tack, and on the left
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  Speaker 1: hand under the arched foot of the foresail. I could
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  Speaker 1: see the sunset still quite bright. This at such an
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  Speaker 1: hour of the night surprised me greatly, but I was
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  Speaker 1: too ignorant to draw the true conclusion that we were
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  Speaker 1: going north about round Scotland, and were now on the
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  Speaker 1: high Sea between the Orkney and Shetland Islands, having avoided
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  Speaker 1: the dangerous currents of the Pentland Firth. For my part,
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  Speaker 1: who had been so long shut in the dark and
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  Speaker 1: knew nothing of head winds, I thought we might be
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  Speaker 1: half way or more across the Atlantic, and indeed beyond
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  Speaker 1: that I wandered a little at the lateness of the
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  Speaker 1: sunset light, I gave no heed to it. Pushed on
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  Speaker 1: across the decks running between the seas, catching at ropes,
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  Speaker 1: and only save from going overboard by one of the
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  Speaker 1: hands on deck, who had always been kind to me.
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  Speaker 1: The round house for which I was bound, and where
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  Speaker 1: I was now to sleep and serve, stood some six
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  Speaker 1: feet above the decks, and, considering the size of the brig,
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  Speaker 1: was of good dimensions. Inside was a fixed table and bench,
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  Speaker 1: and two berths, one for the captain and the other
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  Speaker 1: for the two mates turn and turn about. It was
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  Speaker 1: all fitted with lockers from top to bottom so as
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  Speaker 1: to stow away the officer's belongings, and a part of
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  Speaker 1: the ship's stores. There was the second store room, underneath
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  Speaker 1: which you entered by a hatchway in the middle of
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  Speaker 1: the deck. Indeed, all the best of the meat and drink,
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  Speaker 1: and the whole of the powder were collected in this place,
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  Speaker 1: and all the firearms except the two pieces of brass ordnance,
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  Speaker 1: were set in a rack in the aftermost wall of
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  Speaker 1: the round house. The most of the cutlasses were in
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  Speaker 1: another place. A small window with a shutter on each side,
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  Speaker 1: and a skylight in the roof gave it light by
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  Speaker 1: day and after dark. There was a lamp always burning.
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  Speaker 1: It was burning when I entered, not brightly, but enough
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  Speaker 1: to show mister Chuan sitting at the table with the
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  Speaker 1: brandy bottle and a tin pannikin in front of him.
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  Speaker 1: He was a tall man, strongly made, and very black,
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  Speaker 1: and he stared before him on the table like one stupid.
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  Speaker 1: He took no notice of my coming in, nor did
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  Speaker 1: he move when the Captain followed, and leant on the
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  Speaker 1: berth beside me, looking darkly at the mate. I stood
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  Speaker 1: in great fear of hose season, and had my reasons
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  Speaker 1: for it, But something told me I need not be
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  Speaker 1: afraid of him just then, and I whispered in his ear,
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  Speaker 1: how is he? He shook his head like one that
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  Speaker 1: does not know and does not wish to think, and
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  Speaker 1: his face was very stern. Presently mister Riach came in.
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  Speaker 1: He gave the Captain a glance that meant the boy
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  Speaker 1: was dead, his plain as speaking, and took his place
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  Speaker 1: like the rest of us, so that we all three
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  Speaker 1: stood without a word, staring down at mister Chuan, and
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  Speaker 1: mister Chuan on his side, sat without a word, looking
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  Speaker 1: hard upon the table. All of a sudden he put
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  Speaker 1: out his hand to take the bottle, and at that
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  Speaker 1: mister Riach started forward and caught it away from him,
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  Speaker 1: rather by surprise than violence, crying out with an oath
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  Speaker 1: that there had been too much of this work altogether,
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  Speaker 1: and that a judgment would fall upon the ship. And
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  Speaker 1: as he spoke, the weather sliding doors standing open, he
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  Speaker 1: tossed the bottle into the sea. Mister Chuan was on
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  Speaker 1: his feet at a trice. He still looked days, but
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  Speaker 1: he meant murder aye, and would have done it for
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  Speaker 1: the second time that night, had not the captain stepped
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  Speaker 1: in between him and his victim. Sit down, roars the captain. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: sut and swine, d'ye know what you've done. You've murdered
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  Speaker 1: the boy. Mister Chuan seemed to understand, for he sat
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  Speaker 1: down again and put up his hand to his brow. Hell,
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  Speaker 1: he said, he brought me a dirty pannikin. At that word,
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  Speaker 1: the Captain and I and mister Riach all looked at
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  Speaker 1: each other for a second with a kind of frightened look,
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  Speaker 1: and then Ho Suesan walked up to his chief officer,
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  Speaker 1: took him by the shoulder, led him across to his bunk,
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  Speaker 1: and bade him lie down and go to sleep. As
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  Speaker 1: you might speak to a bad child. The murderer cried
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  Speaker 1: a little, but he took off his sea boots and obeyed. Ah,
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  Speaker 1: cried mister Riach with a dreadful voice. Ye should have
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  Speaker 1: interfered long since. It's too late now, mister Riach, said
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  Speaker 1: the captain. This night's work must never be kent in dysart.
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  Speaker 1: The boy went overboard, sir, that's what the story is,
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  Speaker 1: and I would give five pounds out of my pocket
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  Speaker 1: it was true. He turned to the table. What made
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  Speaker 1: you throw the good bottle away? He added, There was
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  Speaker 1: no sense in that, sir. Here David draw me another.
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  Speaker 1: They're in the bottom locker, and he tossed me a key.
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  Speaker 1: You'll need a glass yourself, sir, he added, De riach
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  Speaker 1: Yan was an ugly thing to see. So the pair
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  Speaker 1: sat down and habanabed, And while they did so, the murderer,
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  Speaker 1: who had been lying and whimpering in his berth, raised
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  Speaker 1: himself upon his elbow and looked at them and at me.
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  Speaker 1: That was the first night of my new duties, and
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  Speaker 1: in the course of the next day I had got
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  Speaker 1: well into the run of them. I had to serve
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  Speaker 1: at the meals which the captain took at regular hours,
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  Speaker 1: sitting down with the officer who was off duty. All
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  Speaker 1: the day through I would be running with a dram
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  Speaker 1: to one or other of my three masters. And at
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  Speaker 1: night I slept on a blanket thrown on the deck
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  Speaker 1: boards at the aftermost end of the round house and
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  Speaker 1: right in the draft of the two doors. It was
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  Speaker 1: a hard and a cold bed. Nor was I suffered
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  Speaker 1: to sleep without interruption, for some one would always be
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  Speaker 1: coming in from deck to get a dram, and when
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  Speaker 1: a fresh watch was to be set, two and sometimes
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  Speaker 1: all three would sit down and brew a bowl together.
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  Speaker 1: How they kept their health I know not any more
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  Speaker 1: than how I kept my own. And yet in other
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  Speaker 1: ways it was an easy service. There was no cloth delay.
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  Speaker 1: The meals were either of oatmeal, porridge or salt junk,
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  Speaker 1: except twice a week when there was duff, and though
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  Speaker 1: I was clumsy enough and not being firm on my
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  Speaker 1: sea legs, sometimes fell with what I was bringing them.
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  Speaker 1: Both mister Reach and the Captain were singularly patient. I
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  Speaker 1: could not but fancy they were making up leeway with
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  Speaker 1: their consciences, and that they would scarce have been so
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  Speaker 1: good with me if they had not been worse with ransom.
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  Speaker 1: As for mister Chuan, the drink or his crime, or
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  Speaker 1: the two together, had certainly troubled his mind. I cannot
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  Speaker 1: say I ever saw him and his proper wits. He
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  Speaker 1: never grew used to my being there, stared at me continually,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes I could have thought with terror, and more than
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  Speaker 1: once drew back from my hand. When I was serving him.
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  Speaker 1: I was pretty sure from the first that he had
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  Speaker 1: no clear mind of what he had done, And on
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  Speaker 1: my second day in the round house I had the
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  Speaker 1: proof of it. We were alone, and he had been
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  Speaker 1: staring at me a long time, when all at once
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  Speaker 1: up he got as pale as death and came up
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  Speaker 1: close to me, to my great terror, but I had
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  Speaker 1: no cause to be afraid of him. You were not
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  Speaker 1: here before, he asked, No, Sir, said I. There was
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  Speaker 1: another boy. He asked again, And when I had answered him, ah,
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  Speaker 1: says he. I thought that and went and sat down
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  Speaker 1: without another word, except to call for Brandy. You may
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  Speaker 1: think it strange, but for all the horror I had,
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  Speaker 1: I was still sorry for him. He was a married
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  Speaker 1: man with a wife in Leith. But whether or no
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  Speaker 1: he had a family I have now forgotten. I hope
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  Speaker 1: not altogether, it was no very hard life. For the
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  Speaker 1: time it lasted, which, as you are to hear, was
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  Speaker 1: not long. I was as well fed as the best
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  Speaker 1: of them. Even their pickles, which were the great dainty,
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  Speaker 1: I was allowed my share of, and had I liked,
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  Speaker 1: I might have been drunk from morning to night. Like
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  Speaker 1: mister Chuann, I had company to and good company of
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  Speaker 1: its sort. Mister Riach, who had been to the college,
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  Speaker 1: spoke to me like a friend when he was not sulking,
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  Speaker 1: told me many curious things and some that were informing.
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  Speaker 1: And even the Captain, though he kept me at the
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  Speaker 1: stick's end the most part of the time, would sometimes
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  Speaker 1: unbuckle a bit and tell me of the fine countries
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  Speaker 1: he had visited. The shadow of poor ransom, to be sure,
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  Speaker 1: lay on all four of us, and on me and
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  Speaker 1: mister Chuan in particular, most heavily. And then I had
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  Speaker 1: another trouble of my own. Here I was doing dirty
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  Speaker 1: work for three men that I looked down upon, and
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  Speaker 1: one of whom at least should have been hung upon
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  Speaker 1: a gallows. That was for the present, and as for
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  Speaker 1: the future, I could only see myself slaving alongside of
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  Speaker 1: negroes in the tobacco fields. Mister Riach, perhaps from caution,
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  Speaker 1: would never suffer me to say another word about my story.
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  Speaker 1: The captain whom I tried to approach rebuffed me like
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  Speaker 1: a dog and would not hear a word. And as
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  Speaker 1: the days came and went, my heart sank lower and lower,
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  Speaker 1: till I was even glad of the work, which kept
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  Speaker 1: me from thinking end a chapter.