Two minutes later I was securely manacled in irons on the starboard side of the lower deck, just amidships, my bandage and lashings having been removed.
It was degradation indeed, but I determined to try to face my fate manfully. “Never say die!” should be my motto; and somehow the saying of the heroic Sir Humphrey Gilbert came into my mind, “Heaven is as near to us on the sea as on the land.”
CHAPTER XVI.
IN IRONS.
Five minutes after I had been put in irons, Mr. Triggs and Ned Burton, under a strong guard, were brought down a hatchway ladder just over my head. I was overjoyed to find that they were going to be manacled close to me, for I had not in the least expected such good fortune. As soon as my shipmates’ legs had been secured, and their arms and eyes set free, our guards hung a lantern to the beams, went away, and left us alone.
It was evident that the vessel was going to get under way at once, for there was a great hubbub on deck, and I thought I could distinguish the noise of a windlass and of a cable coming in at the hawse-hole. I knew, too, that the land wind was blowing, and felt sure that the chief would wish to take advantage of it to get clear of the coast before dawn.
Mr. Triggs and Ned were as delighted to see me as I was to see them.
“They didn’t mean to put us together, I suspect,” said the gunner; “but it so happens they’ve got irons only in this part of the ship, and can’t well help themselves.”
“This is an armed vessel,” said I, watching my shipmates’ faces keenly, “and must be a privateer, or perhaps a piratical craft of some kind.”
The gunner started.
“How did you gain that information, youngster?” he asked. “Weren’t you blindfolded?”