"
"Smell their breaths, sir. There isn't a trace of the odor of liquor."
The surgeon did so, confirming Eph's claim.
"But I remember that Mr. Benson came aboard, at Dunhaven, with a very
strong odor of liquor," continued the lieutenant commander.
"That had been sprinkled on his clothes, sir," argued Somers.
"Perhaps. But then there was the Annapolis affair."
"Mr. Benson explained that to you, sir."
"It's very strange," returned the lieutenant commander, "that such things
seem to happen generally to Mr. Benson when he gets on shore. I know I
have been ashore, in all parts of the world, without having such things
happen to me."
"There is something behind this, sir, that doesn't spell bad conduct on
the part of either of my friends," cried Eph, hotly. "There's some plot,
some trick in the whole thing that we don't understand. And we might
understand much more about it, sir, if your midshipman had arrested that
pair of blackguards on the sloop, and brought them back with us."
"Had Mr. Benson and Mr. Hastings been members of the naval forces we could
have done that," replied Mr. Mayhew. "Probably you don't understand, Mr.
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