He brought his glass to bear upon the object. Page 141.
"They're going to take us to serve the king," said Haines; "they want men, and don't care how they get 'em."
"But the king hasn't anything to do with us," I replied; "we're Americans, and not his subjects anyhow."
"Avast there, my lad," said Haines, "what do you think the king or his officers care about that? Don't you remember our little affair in the early part of the voyage with that British man-of-war?"
"Oh, certainly I do," I replied; "but the officer who came aboard did not try to take anybody away that he knew was an American."
"Yes, that's true," Haines replied; "and the trouble with him was, from a British point of view, that he was too particular, and also that he lost his head over the captain's rum-bottle. Not one officer in twenty, so far as I've known, would hesitate at taking just as many men as he wanted, whether they were British born or not. You see, that officer wasn't right in his head when he got drunk so easily at a time when he should have stayed sober.
"It looks to me very much," Haines continued, "as though they intended to impress us in punishment for our disorderly conduct. I presume that's what they do when Americans come ashore and give any sort of a reason for being arrested; off they go to the king's receiving-ship, and whenever wanted they are drafted into one of his Majesty's men-of-war. But make yourself easy, my lad, we won't have any trouble; as soon as they find that we belong to the crew of the Washington that little affair of the Warwick will set everything right."
While he spoke an officer appeared; what he was I don't know, but he had uniform enough on him for a general or an admiral, at least.
He spoke to the officer in charge of us, and called him to one side. There was quite an earnest talk between them, but of course we don't know what it was. Anyhow, it was something in our favor, as we were taken back to where we spent the night, and our keeper treated us very civilly after the heavily uniformed officer went away.