“O Lord—me thought what pain it was to drown!”
Richard III.
Willmington was taken away and confined to the part of the schooner in which he had been kept since his arrival on board. The crew remained in profound silence, in the same order, and the captain was silently studying the paper which he had in his hand, and from the perusal of which he had a little before raised his head to address the prisoner.
After the lapse of a few moments, he handed it to Lorenzo, and requested him to have a machine made according to the plan set forth in it.
The chief officer bowed, and took it to the officer of the watch. The captain then slowly rose, cast a look around him on the ocean and at the prize-ship, then descended the cabin steps.
The men dispersed, and, in a short time, the deck remained in the occupation of those only whose duty it was to keep watch at that time.
At the bows of the schooner a carpenter was now to be seen busy at work. He was labouring in the greatest haste. Before him was a plan, and a young officer, the one in command, might be observed now and then to leave the sacred boards of the after-deck, and walk forward to inspect the thing that the man was constructing.
Two hours had now elapsed since the captain had passed sentence on the prisoner, and the time had now arrived to execute it.
The moments that completed the two hours had scarcely fled, before Lorenzo came on deck. He proceeded immediately to inspect the machine which he had ordered to be made, in obedience to the commands he had received.