So were two others, Wood and Hoit; it could only be by design, for there were only the malcontents of the crew remaining on board the Neptune. And under the charge of these rascals were the eight treasure chests.
CHAPTER XXVII
The Mutiny of the Neptune
Having carried out my instructions, I directed the boat's crew to row back to the shore, and having secured the little craft and removed her oars, the men followed me to the stockade.
It was now night, but the open space within the palisade was lit by the glare of a huge fire. Seated around on upturned casks, or sprawling on the ground, were as many of the crews of both brigs as could be spared, besides the garrison of the stockade; and, to my surprise, I recognized Joe Clemens, who had been sent ashore, presumably ill with the ague, and also the four men who ought, according to the list of names, to have been keeping watch on board the Neptune.
Having reported myself to Captain Jeremy, I walked over to where Clemens was seated, and asked him how he felt.
"Never better in my life, Master Hammond," was his astonishing reply; from which, coupled with the fact that the other absentees from the Neptune were not ashamed to be seen away from their posts, I concluded that 'twas all part and parcel of Captain Jeremy's plans.
The casks of spirits had been broached, and with rousing song the men, to use Captain 'Enery's expression, "let themselves go". The firelight gleamed on their bronzed, hearty features, and cast fantastic shadows upon the encircling wooden fence, where, like ghostly shapes against the dark sky, stood the sentinels who had been posted to keep watch while their comrades feasted and caroused. The air was thick with the reek of burning logs and the odour of strong waters.
Yet, in contrast to the general festivity, Captain Jeremy and his officers maintained the strictest abstinence, though they applauded with the rest as a ballad went well, or joined in a volley of chaff when a seaman broke down in a partly forgotten song.
Frequently the Captain would slip quietly away and mount the parapet, whence he would gaze steadfastly across the harbour to where the anchor lamps of the two ships glimmered like stars on the point of setting.