“I am so glad,” she said, “I am happy now!”
“Ay, ay, but blow me if I am!” grunted Stump, who, with his hands and his ankles so closely bound that he was forced to sit in a “doubled-up” position upon the cold surface of the ice, was certainly in an uncomfortable situation. “No, not a bit of it. These quarters are worse than that cursed hold; and if you don’t untie me pretty soon, I shall commit suicide—much as that goes against the Stump nature—by rolling over the edge of the ice into the water.”
CHAPTER VIII.
THE CHASE.
As the Montpelier bowled upon her way, after Lark had so unceremoniously left his prisoners upon the ice, the giant rubbed his hands with delight, and glancing up at the squared topsails, which were now filled by the northerly breeze, he thus communed with himself:
“It’s all right now. A fair wind, and the craft cleared of all unnecessary rubbish. That’s as it should be—that’s equal rights!”
His eye fell upon the steward as he spoke, when he suddenly remembered that he had another duty to perform before he could experience that intense satisfaction which, in his opinion should be felt by the captain of a newly-acquired ship.
So, he dispatched one of the islanders into the cabin for the “cat-o’-nine-tails,” an old heirloom that had descended to Briggs from a nautical grandsire, who was famed for his dexterous and frequent use of this instrument.
The native soon returned, and, armed with this cruel weapon, the chief mutineer advanced to the mizzen shrouds, to commence the work of punishment.
The Portuguese writhed like a serpent beneath the torture, which was inflicted with an unsparing hand, and his screams rung in unearthly peals through every corner of the ship—thrilling the hearts of the New Zealanders even with the most uncomfortable sensations.
The captain, himself, soon became disgusted with these cries, and, wishing to entertain himself in a more agreeable manner, cut the steward loose, and, by a dexterous movement of his right leg, sent him headlong to the companion-way, ordering him, in a very impolite manner, to go below and prepare his dinner.