Chapter 8

As I viewed myself in a fragment of looking-glass which hung up
in the cabin, and by the dim light of a kind of battle-lantern, I
was so impressed with a sense of vague awe at my appearance, and
at the recollection of the terrific reality which I was thus
representing, that I was seized with a violent tremour, and could
scarcely summon resolution to go on with my part. It was
necessary, however, to act with decision, and Peters and myself
went upon deck.

We there found everything safe, and, keeping close to the
bulwarks, the three of us crept to the cabin companion-way. It
was only partially closed, precautions having been taken to
prevent its being suddenly pushed to from without, by means of
placing billets of wood on the upper step so as to interfere with
the shutting. We found no difficulty in getting a full view of
the interior of the cabin through the cracks where the hinges
were placed. It now proved to have been very fortunate for us
that we had not attempted to take them by surprise, for they were
evidently on the alert. Only one was asleep, and he lying just at
the foot of the companion-ladder, with a musket by his side. The
rest were seated on several mattresses, which had been taken from
the berths and thrown on the floor. They were engaged in earnest
conversation; and although they had been carousing, as appeared
from two empty jugs, with some tin tumblers which lay about, they
were not as much intoxicated as usual. All had knives, one or two
of them pistols, and a great many muskets were lying in a berth
close at hand.

We listened to their conversation for some time before we could
make up our minds how to act, having as yet resolved on nothing
determinate, except that we would attempt to paralyze their
exertions, when we should attack them, by means of the apparition
of Rogers. They were discussing their piratical plans, in which
all we could hear distinctly was, that they would unite with the
crew of a schooner _Hornet_, and, if possible, get the schooner
herself into their possession preparatory to some attempt on a
large scale, the particulars of which could not be made out by
either of us.

One of the men spoke of Peters, when the mate replied to him in a
low voice which could not be distinguished, and afterward added
more loudly, that “he could not understand his being so much
forward with the captain’s brat in the forecastle, and he thought
the sooner both of them were overboard the better.” To this no
answer was made, but we could easily perceive that the hint was
well received by the whole party, and more particularly by Jones.
At this period I was excessively agitated, the more so as I could
see that neither Augustus nor Peters could determine how to act.
I made up my mind, however, to sell my life as dearly as
possible, and not to suffer myself to be overcome by any feelings
of trepidation.

The tremendous noise made by the roaring of the wind in the
rigging, and the washing of the sea over the deck, prevented us
from hearing what was said, except during momentary lulls. In one
of these, we all distinctly heard the mate tell one of the men to
“go forward, have an eye upon them, for he wanted no such secret
doings on board the brig.” It was well for us that the pitching
of the vessel at this moment was so violent as to prevent this
order from being carried into instant execution. The cook got up
from his mattress to go for us, when a tremendous lurch, which I
thought would carry away the masts, threw him headlong against
one of the larboard stateroom doors, bursting it open, and
creating a good deal of other confusion. Luckily, neither of our
party was thrown from his position, and we had time to make a
precipitate retreat to the forecastle, and arrange a hurried plan
of action before the messenger made his appearance, or rather
before he put his head out of the companion-hatch, for he did not
come on deck. From this station he could not notice the absence
of Allen, and he accordingly bawled out, as if to him, repeating
the orders of the mate. Peters cried out, “Ay, ay,” in a
disguised voice, and the cook immediately went below, without
entertaining a suspicion that all was not right.

My two companions now proceeded boldly aft and down into the
cabin, Peters closing the door after him in the same manner he
had found it. The mate received them with feigned cordiality, and
told Augustus that, since he had behaved himself so well of late,
he might take up his quarters in the cabin and be one of them for
the future. He then poured him out a tumbler half full of rum,
and made him drink it. All this I saw and heard, for I followed
my friends to the cabin as soon as the door was shut, and took up
my old point of observation. I had brought with me the two
pump-handles, one of which I secured near the companion-way, to
be ready for use when required.

I now steadied myself as well as possible so as to have a good
view of all that was passing within, and endeavoured to nerve
myself to the task of descending among the mutineers when Peters
should make a signal to me, as agreed upon. Presently he
contrived to turn the conversation upon the bloody deeds of the
mutiny, and by degrees led the men to talk of the thousand
superstitions which are so universally current among seamen. I
could not make out all that was said, but I could plainly see the
effects of the conversation in the countenances of those present.
The mate was evidently much agitated, and presently, when some
one mentioned the terrific appearance of Rogers’ corpse, I
thought he was upon the point of swooning. Peters now asked him
if he did not think it would be better to have the body thrown
overboard at once as it was too horrible a sight to see it
floundering about in the scuppers. At this the villain absolutely
gasped for breath, and turned his head slowly round upon his
companions, as if imploring some one to go up and perform the
task. No one, however, stirred, and it was quite evident that the
whole party were wound up to the highest pitch of nervous
excitement. Peters now made me the signal. I immediately threw
open the door of the companion-way, and, descending, without
uttering a syllable, stood erect in the midst of the party.

The intense effect produced by this sudden apparition is not at
all to be wondered at when the various circumstances are taken
into consideration. Usually, in cases of a similar nature, there
is left in the mind of the spectator some glimmering of doubt as
to the reality of the vision before his eyes; a degree of hope,
however feeble, that he is the victim of chicanery, and that the
apparition is not actually a visitant from the old world of
shadows. It is not too much to say that such remnants of doubt
have been at the bottom of almost every such visitation, and that
the appalling horror which has sometimes been brought about, is
to be attributed, even in the cases most in point, and where most
suffering has been experienced, more to a kind of anticipative
horror, lest the apparition might possibly be real, than to an
unwavering belief in its reality. But, in the present instance,
it will be seen immediately, that in the minds of the mutineers
there was not even the shadow of a basis upon which to rest a
doubt that the apparition of Rogers was indeed a revivification
of his disgusting corpse, or at least its spiritual image. The
isolated situation of the brig, with its entire inaccessibility
on account of the gale, confined the apparently possible means of
deception within such narrow and definite limits, that they must
have thought themselves enabled to survey them all at a glance.
They had now been at sea twenty-four days, without holding more
than a speaking communication with any vessel whatever. The whole
of the crew, too—at least all whom they had the most remote
reason for suspecting to be on board—were assembled in the cabin,
with the exception of Allen, the watch; and his gigantic stature
(he was six feet six inches high) was too familiar in their eyes
to permit the notion that he was the apparition before them to
enter their minds even for an instant. Add to these
considerations the awe-inspiring nature of the tempest, and that
of the conversation brought about by Peters; the deep impression
which the loathsomeness of the actual corpse had made in the
morning upon the imaginations of the men; the excellence of the
imitation in my person, and the uncertain and wavering light in
which they beheld me, as the glare of the cabin lantern, swinging
violently to and fro, fell dubiously and fitfully upon my figure,
and there will be no reason to wonder that the deception had even
more than the entire effect which we had anticipated. The mate
sprang up from the mattress on which he was lying, and, without
uttering a syllable, fell back, stone dead, upon the cabin floor,
and was hurled to the leeward like a log by a heavy roll of the
brig. Of the remaining seven, there were but three who had at
first any degree of presence of mind. The four others sat for
some time rooted apparently to the floor, the most pitiable
objects of horror and utter despair my eyes ever encountered. The
only opposition we experienced at all was from the cook, John
Hunt, and Richard Parker; but they made but a feeble and
irresolute defence. The two former were shot instantly by Peters,
and I felled Parker with a blow on the head from the pump-handle
which I had brought with me. In the meantime, Augustus seized one
of the muskets lying on the floor and shot another mutineer
Wilson through the breast. There were now but three remaining;
but by this time they had become aroused from their lethargy, and
perhaps began to see that a deception had been practised upon
them, for they fought with great resolution and fury, and, but
for the immense muscular strength of Peters, might have
ultimately got the better of us. These three men were—Jones,
Greely, and Absolom Hicks. Jones had thrown Augustus to the
floor, stabbed him in several places along the right arm, and
would no doubt have soon dispatched him (as neither Peters nor
myself could immediately get rid of our own antagonists), had it
not been for the timely aid of a friend, upon whose assistance
we, surely, had never depended. This friend was no other than
Tiger. With a low growl, he bounded into the cabin, at a most
critical moment for Augustus, and throwing himself upon Jones,
pinned him to the floor in an instant. My friend, however, was
now too much injured to render us any aid whatever, and I was so
encumbered with my disguise that I could do but little. The dog
would not leave his hold upon the throat of Jones—Peters,
nevertheless, was far more than a match for the two men who
remained, and would, no doubt, have dispatched them sooner, had
it not been for the narrow space in which he had to act, and the
tremendous lurches of the vessel. Presently he was enabled to get
hold of a heavy stool, several of which lay about the floor. With
this he beat out the brains of Greely as he was in the act of
discharging a musket at me, and immediately afterward a roll of
the brig throwing him in contact with Hicks, he seized him by the
throat, and, by dint of sheer strength, strangled him
instantaneously. Thus, in far less time than I have taken to tell
it, we found ourselves masters of the brig.

The only person of our opponents who was left alive was Richard
Parker. This man, it will be remembered, I had knocked down with
a blow from the pump-handle at the commencement of the attack. He
now lay motionless by the door of the shattered stateroom; but,
upon Peters touching him with his foot, he spoke, and entreated
for mercy. His head was only slightly cut, and otherwise he had
received no injury, having been merely stunned by the blow. He
now got up, and, for the present, we secured his hands behind his
back. The dog was still growling over Jones; but, upon
examination, we found him completely dead, the blood issuing in a
stream from a deep wound in the throat, inflicted, no doubt, by
the sharp teeth of the animal.

It was now about one o’clock in the morning, and the wind was
still blowing tremendously. The brig evidently laboured much more
than usual, and it became absolutely necessary that something
should be done with a view of easing her in some measure. At
almost every roll to leeward she shipped a sea, several of which
came partially down into the cabin during our scuffle, the
hatchway having been left open by myself when I descended. The
entire range of bulwarks to larboard had been swept away, as well
as the caboose, together with the jollyboat from the counter. The
creaking and working of the mainmast, too, gave indication that
it was nearly sprung. To make room for more stowage in the
afterhold, the heel of this mast had been stepped between decks
(a very reprehensible practice, occasionally resorted to by
ignorant ship-builders), so that it was in imminent danger of
working from its step. But, to crown all our difficulties, we
plummed the well, and found no less than seven feet of water.

Leaving the bodies of the crew lying in the cabin, we got to work
immediately at the pumps—Parker, of course, being set at liberty
to assist us in the labour. Augustus’s arm was bound up as well
as we could effect it, and he did what he could, but that was not
much. However, we found that we could just manage to keep the
leak from gaining upon us by having one pump constantly going. As
there were only four of us, this was severe labour; but we
endeavoured to keep up our spirits, and looked anxiously for
daybreak, when we hoped to lighten the brig by cutting away the
mainmast.

In this manner we passed a night of terrible anxiety and fatigue,
and, when the day at length broke, the gale had neither abated in
the least, nor were there any signs of its abating. We now
dragged the bodies on deck and threw them overboard. Our next
care was to get rid of the mainmast. The necessary preparations
having been made, Peters cut away at the mast (having found axes
in the cabin), while the rest of us stood by the stays and
lanyards. As the brig gave a tremendous lee-lurch, the word was
given to cut away the weather-lanyards, which being done, the
whole mass of wood and rigging plunged into the sea, clear of the
brig, and without doing any material injury. We now found that
the vessel did not labour quite as much as before, but our
situation was still exceedingly precarious, and in spite of the
utmost exertions, we could not gain upon the leak without the aid
of both pumps. The little assistance which Augustus could render
us was not really of any importance. To add to our distress, a
heavy sea, striking the brig to the windward, threw her off
several points from the wind, and, before she could regain her
position, another broke completely over her, and hurled her full
upon her beam-ends. The ballast now shifted in a mass to leeward
(the stowage had been knocking about perfectly at random for some
time), and for a few moments we thought nothing could save us
from capsizing. Presently, however, we partially righted; but the
ballast still retaining its place to larboard, we lay so much
along that it was useless to think of working the pumps, which
indeed we could not have done much longer in any case, as our
hands were entirely raw with the excessive labour we had
undergone, and were bleeding in the most horrible manner.

Contrary to Parker’s advice, we now proceeded to cut away the
foremast, and at length accomplished it after much difficulty,
owing to the position in which we lay. In going overboard the
wreck took with it the bowsprit, and left us a complete hulk.

So far we had had reason to rejoice in the escape of our
longboat, which had received no damage from any of the huge seas
which had come on board. But we had not long to congratulate
ourselves; for the foremast having gone, and, of course, the
foresail with it, by which the brig had been steadied, every sea
now made a complete breach over us, and in five minutes our deck
was swept from stem to stern, the longboat and starboard bulwarks
torn off, and even the windlass shattered into fragments. It was,
indeed, hardly possible for us to be in a more pitiable
condition.

At noon there seemed to be some slight appearance of the gale’s
abating, but in this we were sadly disappointed, for it only
lulled for a few minutes to blow with redoubled fury. About four
in the afternoon it was utterly impossible to stand up against
the violence of the blast; and, as the night closed in upon us, I
had not a shadow of hope that the vessel would hold together
until morning.

By midnight we had settled very deep in the water, which was now
up to the orlop deck. The rudder went soon afterward, the sea
which tore it away lifting the after portion of the brig entirely
from the water, against which she thumped in her descent with
such a concussion as would be occasioned by going ashore. We had
all calculated that the rudder would hold its own to the last, as
it was unusually strong, being rigged as I have never seen one
rigged either before or since. Down its main timber there ran a
succession of stout iron hooks, and others in the same manner
down the stern-post. Through these hooks there extended a very
thick wrought-iron rod, the rudder being thus held to the
stern-post and swinging freely on the rod. The tremendous force
of the sea which tore it off may be estimated by the fact, that
the hooks in the stern-post, which ran entirely through it, being
clinched on the inside, were drawn every one of them completely
out of the solid wood.

We had scarcely time to draw breath after the violence of this
shock, when one of the most tremendous waves I had then ever
known broke right on board of us, sweeping the companion-way
clear off, bursting in the hatchways, and filling every inch of
the vessel with water.