After he had finished the reading of the
paper, Christy sat in his chair, apparently still looking it over, as
though he did not fully comprehend its meaning. But he made no sign and
indulged in no remark of any kind, and in a few moments folded the order
and put it back into his pocket. Undoubtedly he was thinking very
energetically of something, but he did not reveal the nature of his
reflections.
Flint concluded that he was utterly dissatisfied with his orders, and
even regarded them as a slight upon himself as the commander of the
steamer for the time being. It was not customary to direct captains
to avoid the enemy under all circumstances that were likely to be
presented. The first lieutenant began to realize the disadvantage of
sailing with a captain so young, for it looked to him as though the
strange order had been issued on account of the youth of the commander.
When Christy had restored the paper to his pocket, he rose from his
seat, and thus indicated that there was to be no consultation with the
officers in regard to the unusual instructions. The two officers rose at
the same time, and closely observed the face of the commander; but this
time Flint could find nothing there as serious as he had observed
before; in fact, there was a twinkle in his eye that looked promising.
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