‘Come along aft and see the capt’n,’ said the boatswain.
He then spoke to the sailmaker about the sails which they had apparently descended to view, and, catching me by the arm, walked me under the hatch, where he came to a stand.
‘Been here since Woolwich, ye say?’
‘Yes,’ I answered.
‘All in the dark?’
‘Yes.’
‘What have you eaten and drunken?’
‘I brought some food with me.’
‘Are you one of a gang?’ And here he rolled a pair of large glassy eyes over the casks and coils of rope. He was a very powerful seaman, deeply bitten by small-pox and without a right ear.
‘I am alone,’ said I.