The Neptune, commanded by Captain Jonas Wright, had left the port of Topsham on the tenth of September, with a living cargo consisting of one hundred and twenty poor peasants whom the inhuman Judge Jeffreys had condemned at Exeter Assizes to a lifelong slavery in Jamaica.
This Captain Jonas Wright was a harsh, tyrannical man, who, far from alleviating the miseries of his prisoners, had added to their hard lot, keeping them on low rations of nauseating food, and only allowing them to come on deck for fresh air at very long intervals, while he took a savage delight in bestowing the dreaded "cat" whenever an opportunity occurred. Frequently, through sheer love of cruelty, he would invent some pretext for whipping the manacled prisoners, shouting in drunken glee at their appeals for mercy.
At length George Oddicombe, a man of enormous strength, but withal somewhat dull of understanding, who had fought stubbornly at Sedge moor till ridden down by the Royals, contrived to free himself from his gyves and leg irons, and by working heroically for six hours also managed to release most of his luckless comrades, who in turn devoted their energies to knocking off the fetters of the remaining rebels.
That same night, the captain being in drink, as were most of the seamen, a horde of fierce and resolute peasants poured through the hatchway and overpowered the crew. What happened to their erstwhile captors we did not ask, there being little need to imagine their fate.
Although freed from their oppressors, the ignorant yokels found themselves helpless, for the brig soon got in irons[1]. Unable to manoeuvre her, they had slowly drifted in a vessel which, but for our aid, would ere now be lying on the bed of the Atlantic.
Directly the wind moderated sufficiently, 'Enery and I returned to the Golden Hope, leaving seven of our men still on board the Neptune.
Captain Jeremy listened intently to the bos'n's report, his brow frequently puckering as if with the perplexity of the situation; but when at length 'Enery finished his story, the Captain brought his hand down on the cabin table with a tremendous crash.
"By Jove!" he exclaimed, "I'll risk it. Bring Oddicombe on board."
[1] A vessel is said to be "in irons" when she is head to wind, and will not tall off on either tack.