s very voyage, dropped some
hints of this vile design, as they thought there was room for it, and
touched two or three times at what a noble opportunity they had of
enriching themselves, and making their fortunes, as they wickedly called
it. This was when they had the four chests of money on board and
Williams made it a kind of jest in his discourse, how easily they might
carry it off, ship and all. But as they did not find themselves
seconded, or that any of the men showed themselves in favour of such a
thing, but rather spoke of it with abhorrence they passed it over as a
kind of discourse that had nothing at all in it, except that one of the
men, viz., the surgeon, once took them up short for so much as
mentioning such a thing, told them the thought was criminal and it ought
not to be spoken of among them, which reproof was supposed cost him his
life afterwards.

As Gow and his comrade had thus started the thing at a distance before,
though it was then without success, yet they had the less to do now,
when other discontents had raised a secret fire in the breasts of the
men; for now, being as it were mad and desperate with apprehensions of
their being severely punished by the captain, they wanted no persuasions
to come into the most wicked undertaking that the devil or any of his
angels could propose to them. Nor do we find that upon any of their
examinations they pretended to have made any scruples or objections to
the cruelty of the bloody attempt that was to be made, but came to it at
once, and resolved to put it in execution immediately, that is to say,
the very same evening.

It was the captain's constant custom to call all the ship's company into
the great cabin every night at eight o'clock to prayers, and then the
watch being set, one went upon deck, and the other turned in, or, as
the seamen phrase it, went to their hammocks to sleep; and here they
concerted their devilish plot. It was the turn of five of the
conspirators to go to sleep, and of these Gow and Williams were two. The
three who were to be upon the deck were Winter, Rowlinson, and Melvin, a
Scotchman. The persons they immediately designed for destruction were
four, viz., the captain, the mate, the super-cargo, and the surgeon,
whereof all but the captain were gone to sleep, the captain himself
being upon the quarter deck.

Between nine and ten at night, all being quiet and secure, and the poor
gentlemen that were to be murdered fast asleep, the