He began slowly to get out one of the oars as he spoke.
“It would have been better if they had cut our throats,” growled Captain Graddy with a fierce oath.
“You’d have been worse off just now if they had, captain,” said Gaff, shaking off his depression of spirits by a strong effort of will. “Come, Cap’n Graddy, you an’ I are in the same fix; let’s be friends, and do our best to face the worst, like men.”
“It makes little matter how we face it,” said the captain, “it’ll come to the same thing in the long run, if we don’t manage to make it a short run by taking strong measures. (He touched the hilt of a knife which he wore at all times in his belt.) However, we may as well pull as not.”
He rose and sulkily took an oar, while Gaff took another.
“Now, captain,” said Gaff, “you know better than me how far we be fro’ land, an’ which is the way to pull.”
“I should think we’re five hundred miles from the nearest land,” said Graddy, “in a nor’-east direction, an’ there’s no islands that I know of between us an’ South America, so we may just pull about for exercise till the grub’s done, an’ then pull till we’re dead.”
The captain burst into a loud, fierce laugh, as if he thought the last remark uncommonly witty.
Presently he said, “You may as well see how much we’ve got to eat an’ drink before beginnin’ our work.”
“All right, my hearty!” cried Gaff, rising with alacrity to examine their store of provisions; “here’s a small bag o’ biscuit as’ll last us three days, mayhap, on half allowance, so we’ll be able to do with quarter allowance for the first few days, an’ then reduce to an eighth, which’ll make it spin out a few days longer. By that time we may fall in with a sail, who knows?”