most senseless manner,
till McAllister ordered them to be furled to prevent the wear and tear
they were undergoing. As to the heat, I had never before felt anything
like it in the tropics. We could have baked a leg of mutton almost,
much more fried a beefsteak, on the capstan-head, while below a dish of
apples might easily have been stewed. I remembered Mr Johnson's
account of the heat in the West Indies, and began to fear that he had
not exaggerated it. It went on growing hotter and hotter, or we felt
the heat more and more. The smoke from the chimney of the galley went
right up in a thin column, and hung in wreaths over our heads, while
that from our cigars, being of a lighter character, ascended above our
noses, and finally disappeared in the blue, quivering air. The Espoir
lay within hail of a speaking-trumpet, and as we had nothing else to do,
we carried on an animated conversation with each other, not very
dignified, but highly amusing to all concerned. We had better have held
our tongues, I suspect. Any departure from discipline is bad. The
Frenchmen who were on deck soon began to imitate our example, and, as
they mostly spoke in a patois or jargon which we, of course, could not
understand, we did not know what they were saying. I thought I saw a
peculiar expression on the faces of some of them, especially when now
and then they glanced round and looked at our men. At last, I told
McAllister that I fancied the Frenchmen were plotting treason, and that
it would be wise to make them hold their tongues. He laughed at the
notion, and asked if I supposed a set of frog-eating, grinning Frenchmen
would dare to lift a finger against such a crew of bull-dog Englishmen
as were our men.

"I cannot say they wouldn't," I answered; "they fought pretty toughly
before they gave in."

"Very true, but they had a chance of victory then. Now the chances
would be all against them, and they might expect to be pitched overboard
if they failed," he replied, turning away as if he did not like the
suggestion. He, however, soon after hailed Perigal, to say that he
thought we had had enough of that, and then, turning to the French
prisoners, told them to hold their tongues. After a time a mist seemed
to be rising over the water, but the heat in no way decreased.

"There is something coming," I observed to McAllister. "What do you
think?"

"Christmas, or perhaps a breeze," he answered, jokingly; "both to all
appearances