16 The Wine-Dark Sea - Libro della tutto

Patrick O'Brian The Wine-Dark Sea
It did go on, day after golden day: and during
the afternoons Martin and Dutourd could
often be heard playing, sometimes evidently
practising, since they would take a passage
over and over again.
Yet in spite of his music, and in spite of the
fact that he played better with the Frenchman
far forward than he did in the cabin, Martin
was not happy. Stephen was rarely in the gunroom
– apart from anything else Dutourd, a
frequent guest, was an inquisitive man, apt to
ask questions, by no means always discreet;
and evading enquiries was often potentially
worse than answering them – and apart from
the general taking of air on the quarterdeck
Stephen and his assistant met for the most part
either in the sick-berth or in Stephen's cabin,
where their registers were kept. Both were
much concerned with the effects of their
treatment: they had kept accurate records over