The ship staggering under canvas enough to bury her; the tempest raging and howling, eager to destroy the handiwork of man; the mutinous crew on the gun-deck plotting, perhaps, against their officers, and in the hold nineteen men ready to risk their lives in an effort to escape.
It was a series of perils which one would say must finally overwhelm us, and I saw but little hope in the future.
There is no reason why I should dwell at length upon all these terrors, for they menaced us until we lads were numb with despair.
During all that night the America staggered on, like some living thing pursued by the furies, and, meanwhile, Simon Ropes and I shared the duties of the guard, not daring to tell them that we knew of more danger in the work than they imagined.
At some time in the evening ship’s biscuit and cold boiled pork had been served, for the cooks were unable to prepare even a pannikin of tea, and when morning came the situation remained unchanged.
One of the sailors who had stood guard with us attempted to make his way on deck, and came back reporting much the same state of affairs as when we had tried to gain speech with Captain Ropes.
The hours passed slowly; breakfast was the same as the supper of the night previous, and we munched the dry bread, washing it down with water from the scuttle-butt which had been lashed in the hold to supply the prisoners, while our bodies were bruised and sore from being flung about, despite all our efforts to remain in one position, when the motions of the ship were most violent.
As the forenoon wore on, I fancied that the ship laboured less heavily, and those of the sailors who remained in the hold with us predicted that the gale would have come to an end before sunset; but none believed we might be able to come up with the chase.
Then it was that all of us were astounded by a call to quarters, and the bo’sun’s mate who brought us the order announced that the hatch on the gun-deck leading to the hold was to be fixed in place with bars, in order that the prisoners’ guard might be at liberty to take their proper stations with the remainder of the crew.
It seemed absolutely impossible that Captain Ropes could have it in mind to open an engagement under such conditions of the weather, and yet the order brought to us told plainly that we were come within range of the chase, and also that she was disposed to show fight rather than surrender peaceably.