Page:Barbour--For the freedom from the seas.djvu/247

 "What sort of a looking man was he?" asked Nelson.

"Oh, he was a tall, oldish man. I must go on or Frenchie will stick me with his bayonet."

"Wait! What was his name, this man you speak of?"

"I don't know. I never knew his name. He had a number, but I forget it. He was all right. Nice man. Ship's captain, I think. Tall, big fellow, with"

There was a shout from the direction of the water and one of the guards came running toward them, beyonetbayonet [sic] lowered. The German laughed and moved on to receive a scolding. Having finished with the prisoner, the guard hurried toward Nelson. He was polite but stern and talked so fast that, even had Nelson understood French, he would not have been able to follow him. But the meaning was apparent. It was forbidden to speak with the prisoners. Nelson tried haltingly to explain that the prisoner in question had information of interest to him, but he couldn't begin to find enough words, and the guard evidently knew no English save "No"; and afterwards Nelson decided that he hadn't even been saying "No," but "Non"!

Nelson lingered about a few minutes longer, 222