| Able Seamen | Ordinary Seamen |
| Tim, American | Johnson, Dane |
| Bill, Norwegian | Jones, Welshman |
| Heligoland, Norwegian | Anderson, Swede |
| Guinea, Dago | Holmberg, Swede |
| Ernest, German | Jennings, Dutch |
| Martin, Scotch | Pete, Dago |
| Johns, German | Tom, Cockney |
| Jorg, Finn | Jim, Englishman |
| Pat, Irishman | Gilbert, half-breed Kanaka |
| Gus, Swede | Johnson, Norwegian |
| Pacetti, Dago |
| Watkins, steward | The “Doctor,” cook |
OWNERS AND PASSENGERS
| Yankee Dan, of Nassau, trader (Daniel Allen). | |
| Rose Allen, his daughter. | |
| Lord Renshaw, an outcast from society, with money in the enterprise. | |
| Sir John Hicks, bankrupt, engaged in the slave traffic. | |
| Mr. Curtis, engaged in the slave traffic. |
CHAPTER I.
I SEEK A NEW SHIP
When I struck the beach in Havre, the war with England had turned adrift upon that port’s dock heads a strange assortment of men. Many had served in either the American or English navy, and many more had manned French privateers and had fought under Napoleon’s eagles. The peace that had followed turned hordes of these fighting men into peaceable merchant sailors without ships, and they drifted about without definite means of support.
I had come over from the States in an old tub of a barque called the Washington, after having served as mate for two years on the schooner General Greene. The war had taught me something, for I had served in the navy in one of the South Pacific cruises, and had fought in the frigate Essex. I was only a boy in years, but the service--and other matters hardly worth mentioning here--had hardened my nature and developed the disagreeable side of my character. I was mate of the old hooker, and could have made out well enough if the captain hadn’t been somewhat down on me, for I never cared especially for women, and I believed my experience justified my opinion of them,--but no matter.