CHAPTER 8

As I viewed myself in a fragment of looking-glass which hung up

in the cabin, and by the dim light of a kind of battle-lantern, I

was so impressed with a sense of vague awe at my appearance, and

at the recollection of the terrific reality which I was thus

representing, that I was seized with a violent tremour, and could

scarcely summon resolution to go on with my part. It was

necessary, however, to act with decision, and Peters and myself

went upon deck.

We there found everything safe, and, keeping close to the

bulwarks, the three of us crept to the cabin companion-way. It

was only partially closed, precautions having been taken to

prevent its being suddenly pushed to from without, by means of

placing billets of wood on the upper step so as to interfere with

the shutting. We found no difficulty in getting a full view of

the interior of the cabin through the cracks where the hinges

were placed. It now proved to have been very fortunate for us

that we had not attempted to take them by surprise, for they were

evidently on the alert. Only one was asleep, and he lying just at

the foot of the companion-ladder, with a musket by his side. The

rest were seated on several mattresses, which had been taken from

the berths and thrown on the floor. They were engaged in earnest

conversation; and although they had been carousing, as appeared

from two empty jugs, with some tin tumblers which lay about, they

were not as much intoxicated as usual. All had knives, one or two

of them pistols, and a great many muskets were lying in a berth

close at hand.

We listened to their conversation for some time before we could

make up our minds how to act, having as yet resolved on nothing

determinate, except that we would attempt to paralyze their

exertions, when we should attack them, by means of the apparition

of Rogers. They were discussing their piratical plans, in which

all we could hear distinctly was, that they would unite with the

crew of a schooner _Hornet_, and, if possible, get the schooner

herself into their possession preparatory to some attempt on a

large scale, the particulars of which could not be made out by

either of us.

One of the men spoke of Peters, when the mate replied to him in a

low voice which could not be distinguished, and afterward added

more loudly, that “he could not understand his being so much

forward with the captain’s brat in the forecastle, and he thought

the sooner both of them were overboard the better.” To this no

answer was made, but we could easily perceive that the hint was

well received by the whole party, and more particularly by Jones.

At this period I was excessively agitated, the more so as I could

see that neither Augustus nor Peters could determine how to act.

I made up my mind, however, to sell my life as dearly as

possible, and not to suffer myself to be overcome by any feelings

of trepidation.

The tremendous noise made by the roaring of the wind in the

rigging, and the washing of the sea over the deck, prevented us

from hearing what was said, except during momentary lulls. In one

of these, we all distinctly heard the mate tell one of the men to

“go forward, have an eye upon them, for he wanted no such secret

doings on board the brig.” It was well for us that the pitching

of the vessel at this moment was so violent as to prevent this

order from being carried into instant execution. The cook got up

from his mattress to go for us, when a tremendous lurch, which I

thought would carry away the masts, threw him headlong against

one of the larboard stateroom doors, bursting it open, and

creating a good deal of other confusion. Luckily, neither of our

party was thrown from his position, and we had time to make a

precipitate retreat to the forecastle, and arrange a hurried plan

of action before the messenger made his appearance, or rather

before he put his head out of the companion-hatch, for he did not

come on deck. From this station he could not notice the absence

of Allen, and he accordingly bawled out, as if to him, repeating

the orders of the mate. Peters cried out, “Ay, ay,” in a

disguised voice, and the cook immediately went below, without

entertaining a suspicion that all was not right.

My two companions now proceeded boldly aft and down into the

cabin, Peters closing the door after him in the same manner he

had found it. The mate received them with feigned cordiality, and

told Augustus that, since he had behaved himself so well of late,

he might take up his quarters in the cabin and be one of them for

the future. He then poured him out a tumbler half full of rum,

and made him drink it. All this I saw and heard, for I followed

my friends to the cabin as soon as the door was shut, and took up

my old point of observation. I had brought with me the two

pump-handles, one of which I secured near the companion-way, to

be ready for use when required.

I now steadied myself as well as possible so as to have a good

view of all that was passing within, and endeavoured to nerve

myself to the task of descending among the mutineers when Peters

should make a signal to me, as agreed upon. Presently he

contrived to turn the conversation upon the bloody deeds of the

mutiny, and by degrees led the men to talk of the thousand

superstitions which are so universally current among seamen. I

could not make out all that was said, but I could plainly see the

effects of the conversation in the countenances of those present.

The mate was evidently much agitated, and presently, when some

one mentioned the terrific appearance of Rogers’ corpse, I

thought he was upon the point of swooning. Peters now asked him

if he did not think it would be better to have the body thrown

overboard at once as it was too horrible a sight to see it

floundering about in the scuppers. At this the villain absolutely

gasped for breath, and turned his head slowly round upon his

companions, as if imploring some one to go up and perform the

task. No one, however, stirred, and it was quite evident that the

whole party were wound up to the highest pitch of nervous

excitement. Peters now made me the signal. I immediately threw

open the door of the companion-way, and, descending, without

uttering a syllable, stood erect in the midst of the party.

The intense effect produced by this sudden apparition is not at

all to be wondered at when the various circumstances are taken

into consideration. Usually, in cases of a similar nature, there

is left in the mind of the spectator some glimmering of doubt as

to the reality of the vision before his eyes; a degree of hope,

however feeble, that he is the victim of chicanery, and that the

apparition is not actually a visitant from the old world of

shadows. It is not too much to say that such remnants of doubt

have been at the bottom of almost every such visitation, and that

the appalling horror which has sometimes been brought about, is

to be attributed, even in the cases most in point, and where most

suffering has been experienced, more to a kind of anticipative

horror, lest the apparition might possibly be real, than to an

unwavering belief in its reality. But, in the present instance,

it will be seen immediately, that in the minds of the mutineers

there was not even the shadow of a basis upon which to rest a

doubt that the apparition of Rogers was indeed a revivification

of his disgusting corpse, or at least its spiritual image. The

isolated situation of the brig, with its entire inaccessibility

on account of the gale, confined the apparently possible means of

deception within such narrow and definite limits, that they must

have thought themselves enabled to survey them all at a glance.

They had now been at sea twenty-four days, without holding more

than a speaking communication with any vessel whatever. The whole

of the crew, too—at least all whom they had the most remote

reason for suspecting to be on board—were assembled in the cabin,

with the exception of Allen, the watch; and his gigantic stature

(he was six feet six inches high) was too familiar in their eyes

to permit the notion that he was the apparition before them to

enter their minds even for an instant. Add to these

considerations the awe-inspiring nature of the tempest, and that

of the conversation brought about by Peters; the deep impression

which the loathsomeness of the actual corpse had made in the

morning upon the imaginations of the men; the excellence of the

imitation in my person, and the uncertain and wavering light in

which they beheld me, as the glare of the cabin lantern, swinging

violently to and fro, fell dubiously and fitfully upon my figure,

and there will be no reason to wonder that the deception had even

more than the entire effect which we had anticipated. The mate

sprang up from the mattress on which he was lying, and, without

uttering a syllable, fell back, stone dead, upon the cabin floor,

and was hurled to the leeward like a log by a heavy roll of the

brig. Of the remaining seven, there were but three who had at

first any degree of presence of mind. The four others sat for

some time rooted apparently to the floor, the most pitiable

objects of horror and utter despair my eyes ever encountered. The

only opposition we experienced at all was from the cook, John

Hunt, and Richard Parker; but they made but a feeble and

irresolute defence. The two former were shot instantly by Peters,

and I felled Parker with a blow on the head from the pump-handle

which I had brought with me. In the meantime, Augustus seized one

of the muskets lying on the floor and shot another mutineer

Wilson through the breast. There were now but three remaining;

but by this time they had become aroused from their lethargy, and

perhaps began to see that a deception had been practised upon

them, for they fought with great resolution and fury, and, but

for the immense muscular strength of Peters, might have

ultimately got the better of us. These three men were—Jones,

Greely, and Absolom Hicks. Jones had thrown Augustus to the

floor, stabbed him in several places along the right arm, and

would no doubt have soon dispatched him (as neither Peters nor

myself could immediately get rid of our own antagonists), had it

not been for the timely aid of a friend, upon whose assistance

we, surely, had never depended. This friend was no other than

Tiger. With a low growl, he bounded into the cabin, at a most

critical moment for Augustus, and throwing himself upon Jones,

pinned him to the floor in an instant. My friend, however, was

now too much injured to render us any aid whatever, and I was so

encumbered with my disguise that I could do but little. The dog

would not leave his hold upon the throat of Jones—Peters,

nevertheless, was far more than a match for the two men who

remained, and would, no doubt, have dispatched them sooner, had

it not been for the narrow space in which he had to act, and the

tremendous lurches of the vessel. Presently he was enabled to get

hold of a heavy stool, several of which lay about the floor. With

this he beat out the brains of Greely as he was in the act of

discharging a musket at me, and immediately afterward a roll of

the brig throwing him in contact with Hicks, he seized him by the

throat, and, by dint of sheer strength, strangled him

instantaneously. Thus, in far less time than I have taken to tell

it, we found ourselves masters of the brig.

The only person of our opponents who was left alive was Richard

Parker. This man, it will be remembered, I had knocked down with

a blow from the pump-handle at the commencement of the attack. He

now lay motionless by the door of the shattered stateroom; but,

upon Peters touching him with his foot, he spoke, and entreated

for mercy. His head was only slightly cut, and otherwise he had

received no injury, having been merely stunned by the blow. He

now got up, and, for the present, we secured his hands behind his

back. The dog was still growling over Jones; but, upon

examination, we found him completely dead, the blood issuing in a

stream from a deep wound in the throat, inflicted, no doubt, by

the sharp teeth of the animal.

It was now about one o’clock in the morning, and the wind was

still blowing tremendously. The brig evidently laboured much more

than usual, and it became absolutely necessary that something

should be done with a view of easing her in some measure. At

almost every roll to leeward she shipped a sea, several of which

came partially down into the cabin during our scuffle, the

hatchway having been left open by myself when I descended. The

entire range of bulwarks to larboard had been swept away, as well

as the caboose, together with the jollyboat from the counter. The

creaking and working of the mainmast, too, gave indication that

it was nearly sprung. To make room for more stowage in the

afterhold, the heel of this mast had been stepped between decks

(a very reprehensible practice, occasionally resorted to by

ignorant ship-builders), so that it was in imminent danger of

working from its step. But, to crown all our difficulties, we

plummed the well, and found no less than seven feet of water.

Leaving the bodies of the crew lying in the cabin, we got to work

immediately at the pumps—Parker, of course, being set at liberty

to assist us in the labour. Augustus’s arm was bound up as well

as we could effect it, and he did what he could, but that was not

much. However, we found that we could just manage to keep the

leak from gaining upon us by having one pump constantly going. As

there were only four of us, this was severe labour; but we

endeavoured to keep up our spirits, and looked anxiously for

daybreak, when we hoped to lighten the brig by cutting away the

mainmast.

In this manner we passed a night of terrible anxiety and fatigue,

and, when the day at length broke, the gale had neither abated in

the least, nor were there any signs of its abating. We now

dragged the bodies on deck and threw them overboard. Our next

care was to get rid of the mainmast. The necessary preparations

having been made, Peters cut away at the mast (having found axes

in the cabin), while the rest of us stood by the stays and

lanyards. As the brig gave a tremendous lee-lurch, the word was

given to cut away the weather-lanyards, which being done, the

whole mass of wood and rigging plunged into the sea, clear of the

brig, and without doing any material injury. We now found that

the vessel did not labour quite as much as before, but our

situation was still exceedingly precarious, and in spite of the

utmost exertions, we could not gain upon the leak without the aid

of both pumps. The little assistance which Augustus could render

us was not really of any importance. To add to our distress, a

heavy sea, striking the brig to the windward, threw her off

several points from the wind, and, before she could regain her

position, another broke completely over her, and hurled her full

upon her beam-ends. The ballast now shifted in a mass to leeward

(the stowage had been knocking about perfectly at random for some

time), and for a few moments we thought nothing could save us

from capsizing. Presently, however, we partially righted; but the

ballast still retaining its place to larboard, we lay so much

along that it was useless to think of working the pumps, which

indeed we could not have done much longer in any case, as our

hands were entirely raw with the excessive labour we had

undergone, and were bleeding in the most horrible manner.

Contrary to Parker’s advice, we now proceeded to cut away the

foremast, and at length accomplished it after much difficulty,

owing to the position in which we lay. In going overboard the

wreck took with it the bowsprit, and left us a complete hulk.

So far we had had reason to rejoice in the escape of our

longboat, which had received no damage from any of the huge seas

which had come on board. But we had not long to congratulate

ourselves; for the foremast having gone, and, of course, the

foresail with it, by which the brig had been steadied, every sea

now made a complete breach over us, and in five minutes our deck

was swept from stem to stern, the longboat and starboard bulwarks

torn off, and even the windlass shattered into fragments. It was,

indeed, hardly possible for us to be in a more pitiable

condition.

At noon there seemed to be some slight appearance of the gale’s

abating, but in this we were sadly disappointed, for it only

lulled for a few minutes to blow with redoubled fury. About four

in the afternoon it was utterly impossible to stand up against

the violence of the blast; and, as the night closed in upon us, I

had not a shadow of hope that the vessel would hold together

until morning.

By midnight we had settled very deep in the water, which was now

up to the orlop deck. The rudder went soon afterward, the sea

which tore it away lifting the after portion of the brig entirely

from the water, against which she thumped in her descent with

such a concussion as would be occasioned by going ashore. We had

all calculated that the rudder would hold its own to the last, as

it was unusually strong, being rigged as I have never seen one

rigged either before or since. Down its main timber there ran a

succession of stout iron hooks, and others in the same manner

down the stern-post. Through these hooks there extended a very

thick wrought-iron rod, the rudder being thus held to the

stern-post and swinging freely on the rod. The tremendous force

of the sea which tore it off may be estimated by the fact, that

the hooks in the stern-post, which ran entirely through it, being

clinched on the inside, were drawn every one of them completely

out of the solid wood.

We had scarcely time to draw breath after the violence of this

shock, when one of the most tremendous waves I had then ever

known broke right on board of us, sweeping the companion-way

clear off, bursting in the hatchways, and filling every inch of

the vessel with water.