The position was not in itself one to be proud of, but the half-breed accepted it with wonderful equanimity, and presently he began to assist in the embarkation.
It was nearly dark when the little coast steamer secured by Maurice Gordon for the service turned her prow northward and steamed away.
"The truth is," Durnovo took an early opportunity of saying to Oscard, "that my nerve is no longer up to this work.

I should not care to undertake this business alone, despite my reputation on the coast.

It is a wonderful thing how closely the nerves are allied to the state of one's health." "Wonderful!" acquiesced Guy Oscard, with a lack of irony which only made the irony keener.
"I've been too long in this d----d country," exclaimed Durnovo, "that's the fact.

I'm not the man I was." Guy Oscard smoked for some moments in silence; then he took his pipe from his lips.
"The only pity is," he said judicially, "that you ever undertook to look for the Simiacine if you were going to funk it when the first difficulty arose." Without further comment he walked away, and entered into conversation with the captain of the steamer.
"All right," muttered Durnovo between his teeth--"all right, my sarcastic grand gentleman.

I'll be even with you yet." The strange part of it was that Guy Oscard never attempted to degrade Durnovo from his post of joint commander.