I bowed, and then turned to the other two, saying: "Sir Thomas and Mr Morton, it occurs to me that you two, in virtue of the fact that you are in a sense doubly interested in this matter--since it not only involves you in your own proper persons but also in the persons of your wives and families--are entitled to express an opinion upon this proposal of Captain Carter's, and that I, as a naval officer, ought to give your opinion my most serious consideration.
