The old skipper lay panting hard and, although I couldn’t see what he had done on deck, I knew he had made a desperate fight for his ship.
We understood now what had happened, so there was little to be said. I found myself thinking of old Bill Garnett, and wondered if the convicts had killed him and the rest of the officers on his ship. Then the thought of the women on board our vessel flashed through my mind for the first time.
I looked at Crojack and was about to ask him a question, but he read the look in my eyes and turned away his face. I heard him give a deep groan. Then I knew what was to happen.
As the uproar died away forward, the men swarmed into the cabin, and for the first time, by the aid of the cabin lamp, we had an opportunity to get a good look at the convicts’ faces.
All of them were pale from the effects of long confinement, but their bristling, uncombed hair and beards gave them a fierce appearance. Many of them were blear-eyed and unsteady on their feet from the effects of the rum they had captured.
They had taken their vessel, as we learned by their talk, shortly before midnight. They had planned the affair carefully and had risen in a body, overpowering the guard by sheer force of numbers. After this they had taken their arms, and, after a desperate fight with the crew and after-guard, they were in possession of the ship.
All of them appeared to be rough men, except the man whose powerful and commanding voice I had heard above the general uproar. He was followed everywhere by a few who kept close at either hand, and the way he roared out orders told plainly that he was the leader.
He was a tall, fine-looking young man, and his powerful frame showed in marked contrast to the rest. But it was his face that appeared most different from those of his followers. Every line in it spoke the leader, and every feature, from the fierce, bright eyes to the square, heavy jaw, spoke the man of indomitable spirit and sudden action.
When I first had a good look at him I could hardly believe such a fine-looking man could be a great villain. It was easy to gather from the remarks of his companions, however, that his appearance belied him, and that even the worst of them stood in awe of his passions. Afterward, when I had learned his history, I realized the enormous power for evil that this man was capable of and the great influence he held over nearly all with whom he came in contact.
It was he who had planned the uprising and had taken advantage of the calm weather when he was allowed on deck to communicate with his fellows.