"Never fear, sir," I exclaimed cheerily.  "You will ride this squall out all right, I've not a doubt of it.  You must not judge by your present feelings, you know.  Just now you are exhausted with loss of blood and the pain of your wound, but I intend to carry on and get you ashore and in hospital within the next three days, please God, and once you are out of this close cabin, and in a nice airy ward, with proper nurses to look after you, you will begin to pull round in a way that will astonish you. You are in no danger, sir; Hamilton told me so, and I should think he ought to know."  It was useless to lie unless it were done boldly, and I inwardly prayed that my pious fraud might be forgiven.