it was
necessary to have arms got ready, and brought into the great cabin, the
captain unhappily bid him go immediately to Gow, the second mate and
gunner, and give him orders to get the arms cleared and loaded for him,
and to bring them up to the great cabin; which was in short to tell the
conspirators that the captain was preparing to be too strong for them,
if they did not fall to work with him immediately.

Winter and Peterson went immediately forward, where they knew the rest
of the mutineers were, and to whom they communicated what they had
heard, telling them that it was time to provide for their own safety,
for otherwise their destruction was resolved on, and the captain would
soon be in such a posture that there would be no muddling with him.
While they were thus consulting, as they said, only for their own
safety, Gow and Williams came into them with some others to the number
of eight, and no sooner were they joined by these two, but they fell
downright to the point which Gow had so long formed in his own mind,
viz., to seize upon the captain and mate, and all those that they could
not bring to join with them; in short, to throw them into the sea, and
to go upon the account. All those who are acquainted with the sea
language know the meaning of that expression, and that it is, in few
words, to run away with the ship and turn pirates.

Villainous designs are soonest concluded; as they had but little time
to consult upon what measures they should take, so very little
consultation served for what was before them, and they came to this
short but hellish resolution, viz., that they would immediately, that
very night, murder the captain and such others as they named, and
afterwards proceed with the ship as they should see cause. And here it
is to be observed that though Winter and Peterson were in the first
proposal, namely to prevent their being brought to correction by the
captain, yet Gow and Williams were the principal advisers in the bloody
part, which however the rest came into soon; for, as I said before, as
they had but little time to resolve in, so they had but very little
debate about it but what was first proposed was forthwith engaged in and
consented to.

It must not be omitted that Gow had always had the wicked game of
pirating in his head, and that he had attempted it, or rather tried to
attempt it before, but was not able to bring it to pass; so he and
Williams had also several times, even in thi