It is you who are the coward and the poltroon, to do so," continued Percy, boiling over with rage.
Whatever provocation the major had had for his savage treatment of his brother, the owner of the Bellevite thought his conduct was unjustifiable.

The young man was under age; and whether or not his father was less a patriot than his older son, the latter was certainly unkind, ungenerous, and even brutal.

Without being a "milk-and-water man," Captain Passford was full of kindness, courtesy, and justice.

He did not like the behavior of the major towards his brother.
It looked like a family quarrel of the two brothers on board of the steamer; for Percy was evidently "a weak chicken," after all, though he had become desperate under the stings and reproaches of the major.

Under present circumstances, it did not appear that Percy could be of any service on board of the Bellevite, for his brother would not hear a word he said.