They told me it had been occupied by the captain, and
should be mine. Here I found all I needed in the shape of navigating
instruments, and went on deck with Swallow and the others.
"I could see nothing of the _Swan_; she was out of sight from the
elevation of the brig's bulwarks. All the convicts were on deck, and
the brig looked full of men. Those who had been above whilst I was in
the cabin with the others, approached and stared at me, but not
insolently--merely with curiosity. They seemed a vile lot, one and
all. With some of them every other word was an oath; their talk was
almost gibberish to my ears with thieves' slang. I wondered to find
not one of them dressed in felon's garb; but on reflection I concluded
that they had plundered the crew and the people who had had charge of
them and of the _Cyprus_, and had forced all those they drove out of
the brig to change clothes before quitting the vessel.
"However, it was my immediate policy to prove my sincerity. I valued
my life, and I had but to look at the men to reckon that it would not
be worth a rushlight if they suspected I was not doing my best to find
them a safe asylum among the islands in the Pacific.
Pages:
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102