He was sent aboard the ship, with a guard beside him, who had undertaken to see that he permitted no leakage of the crew’s little game into the ears of the Captain. However, this carpenter was a man of resources. He was suddenly overpowered by illness, on which pretense he went below. Then, breaking into a run, he came to the Captain’s cabin, where Adam was singing the song of his loves. Bidding Rust to continue, as if nothing was happening, he swiftly communicated his news to William Phipps.
“Go back at once and pretend to assist in their deviltry,” commanded Phipps. “Make no sign of anything, save compliance with their wishes, and leave the rest to me.”
The carpenter rejoined his guard so soon that they were entirely satisfied. They conveyed him ashore, with his tools, and joining their mates again, waited with what patience they could muster, for the fateful hour of seven to arrive.
Phipps had now two hours in which to prepare to defend the ship. Unfortunately some of the guns had been landed with the stores. Adam volunteered to draw the loads from these, and this he accomplished, with highly satisfactory speed. But it would have been the work of hours to re-transfer the stores to the hold, hence they were left on shore to themselves.
With close on ninety armed, desperate brutes against them, the handful of men on the “Rose” were hardly in an enviable position. The first thing they did was to remove the bridge which had been constructed between the ship and the shore. The remaining guns on board were then dragged and slewed around till they covered the approach from the woods, by which the mutineers would be obliged to come. There was nothing to be done, then, but to wait.
The crew were not disappointing. They appeared duly, their savagery whetted to a fine edge by the burly ruffian who had assumed command of their force. Phipps had prepared his speech. He hailed the men, in his big, gruff voice and commanded them to halt where they were, on pain of instant annihilation.
“Go near the stores,” he cried, “and I will blow you in splatters against those trees!”
The cowed scoundrels edged back toward the woods. All the muttered threats of their leader, of what he would do if they refused to charge, were empty to the wretches who could look into the chasm-like mouths of a dozen guns. There courage oozed out of their veins. They were already defeated.
Phipps, aware that a similar number of dummies would be equally dangerous, now, had his faithful followers run out the bridge again and bring aboard the stores, without which it would have been madness to sail. This work consumed no small amount of time. But it was finally concluded.
“Now then,” said Phipps, when the situation was all in his favor, “I shall pull up anchor and leave you rogues to the fate you had prepared for me. You can stay here and starve and rot!”