[ The hesitation is concerning, and sets him on edge. Thomas Jopson, not even a year ago, would have taken Irving's instruction at face value and kept his mouth shut. He would have stayed very much in his place, and not involved himself any further. The ice changes a man. The haul, the starvation, the responsibility to protect a group in dire need changes a man. So he doesn't keep his mouth shut, and he doesn't back down. Irving is just as much his responsibility as Crozier was, especially with their numbers so low, and especially with Hickey present.

There's a time to be delicate, and there's a time to get to the point of things. They are not likely to have a better time than this to be indelicate. ]

The Captain wanted him to hang for it, and he's the best of all of us. Do you or do you not remember what Hickey did to you?