Ram sat there holding out his hand to the midshipman, but it was not taken, and for a space they gazed into each other's eyes.

The silence was broken by Ram.
"Well," he said at last, "won't you shake hands ?" "An officer and a gentleman cannot shake hands with one like you," replied Archy coldly.
"Oh, can't he ?" said Ram quietly.

"You're a gentleman.

Was it being a gentleman made you come down and pull me on here." "I don't know whether being a gentleman made me do it," said Archy coldly.

"I saw you would lose your life if I did not get a rope and come to you, and so I did it." "Yes; that's being a gentleman made you do that," said Ram thoughtfully.
"None of our fellows would have done that." "I suppose not." "I know I wouldn't." "Yes, you would." Ram looked the midshipman hard in the face again.
"You mean, if I'd seen you lying down here like I was, I should have gone and fetched the rope and pulled you up ?" "Yes; I am sure you would." Ram sat in his old position, with his hand to the back of his aching head.
"But it's being a gentleman made you do it." "No; anybody who saw a person in danger would try and save his life; and you would have tried to save mine." "But I might have slipped and gone over the cliff." "You wouldn't have thought about that," said Archy quietly.