ed to go below, and I prepared to betake myself to my birth
again, directing the mate, to whom I wished to give some orders,
should be sent to me. To my utter astonishment and consternation, word
was brought me, after a short time, that he was no where to be found.
I hastened upon deck, ordered all hands up again, and questioned every
man in the ship upon the subject; but they, with one accord, declared
that they had not seen the mate forward. Lanterns were then brought,
and every accessible part of the vessel was unavailingly searched. I
then, in the hearing of the whole crew, declared my belief that he
must have fallen overboard by accident, again dismissed one watch
below, and repaired to the cabin, in a state of mental agitation
impossible to be described. For notwithstanding the opinion which I
had expressed to the contrary, I could not but entertain strong
suspicions that the unfortunate man had met a violent death.

The second mate was a protegee of mine; and, as I have before
observed, was a very young man of not much experience as a seaman. I
therefore felt that, under critical circumstances, my main support had
fallen from me. It is needless to add, that a deep sense of
forlornness and insecurity was the result of these reflections.

My first step was to load and deposit in my state room all the fire
arms on board, amounting to several muskets and four pairs of pistols.
The steward was a faithful mulatto man, who had sailed with me several
voyages. To him I communicated my suspicions, and directed him to be
constantly on the alert: and should any further difficulty with the
crew occur, to repair immediately to my state room and arm himself.
His usual birth was in the steerage, but I further directed that he
should, on the following morning, clear out and occupy one in the
cabin near my own. The second mate occupied a small state room opening
into the passage which led from the steerage to the cabin. I called
him from the deck, gave him a pair of loaded pistols, with orders to
keep them in his birth; and, during his night watches on deck, never
to go forward of the mainmast, but to continue as constantly as
possible near the cabin companion-way, and call me upon the slightest
occasion. After this, I laid down in my bed, ordering that I should be
called at four o'clock, for the morning watch. Only a few minutes had
elapsed, when I heard three or four knocks under the counter of the
ship, which is that part of t