“No, sir; weather permitting, and if we have a sufficiency of provisions and water, I shall keep pretty close to the ship—our ship. I shall keep just out of range of a bullet, and that is all; merely hang about or follow her when she catches the wind, until some other vessel heaves in sight. Captain Jarette is a clever, cunning man, but he has, I think, given us our chance, and we shall hang on to him till a chance comes for seizing the ship again.”
“I thought our case was hopeless to-night,” said the captain.
“And so did I, for a time, sir,” continued the mate; “but he has over-reached himself in trying to get rid of us—hoist himself with his own petard—if the weather will only favour us now.”
Mr Frewen drew a deep breath, which sounded to me as if full of relief, and the mate went on—
“It is not too much to expect that if at any time we make an attack now, some of the men will side with us.”
“Don’t matter if they don’t, sir,” growled Bob Hampton, in the deepest of deep bass voices. “We’re strong enough, if you’ll only give us a chance.”
“All depends on chance, my lads,” said Mr Brymer. “Let’s get the daylight, and see what we have on board.”