“And the passengers who won’t join—what’s to be done with them?”
The immediate answer I did not hear. The first words which reached me were—
“They’ll do very well. Some ship will take them off by-and-by.”
Then another remarked—
“Drowning is too good for him. Turn him adrift with a cask of brandy; that’s what he’d like best.”
This last suggestion seemed to please all the speakers, for they laughed heartily, but in a low tone, as if they knew that some were near in whom they could not confide. I had heard quite enough to convince me that a plot was hatching among some of the men to run off with the ship; but it was also important to ascertain when the precious scheme was to be put into execution. That point, though I listened eagerly, I could not ascertain. I was anxious that the men should not suspect that I overheard them, which, if I moved, I was afraid they might do; so I sat quiet, pretending to be asleep. I considered what course I ought to pursue. Had Captain Gunnel been a different sort of man to what he was, I should, of course, have at once informed him; but as his ill-conduct had made the men think of the scheme I had heard them discuss, I felt that it would be better to try and counteract it, without letting him know anything about the matter. I resolved, therefore, only to tell Mr Henley and Mr Vernon, on whose discretion I knew that I could rely, and let them consider what course to pursue. The mutineers went on talking; and from further words I occasionally caught, I discovered that the conspiracy had existed for some time, and had spread much further than I at first supposed. At last, losing patience at having to sit so long, I rose and went forward, as if about to look over the bows. I had stood there a minute, when I felt two hands grasping my shoulders.
“You’ve heard what we’ve been talking about,” whispered Cobb—I was certain it was him—in a deep, fierce tone.
“And if I have, what is that?” I asked with an unfaltering voice.
“That dead men don’t tell tales,” answered the seaman in the same tone of concentrated fierceness.
“It is folly for you to talk to me in that way,” I answered. “Though I am young, I am not a child to be frightened by you. You will get no good by doing what you are talking of let me tell you that at all events, and advise you to give up your notable scheme.”