n him.
Now he was a chained slave, doomed to work, eat, and sleep on a narrow
plank for ten long years. Ten years! could he survive ten days of the
horror and squalor and degradation?

The morning wore on. The upper decks were radiant with sunshine, cool
with fresh breezes, and gay with laughter. The hold steamed like an
oven, stank most offensively, and groaned with anguish. The rowers
began to feel the strain, and the captain ordered the broad, lateen
sails to be set on both masts. The breeze was well behind, the galley
under good way, and for half an hour or so the sweeps were ordered in,
and the slaves fed with a lump of coarse biscuit and refreshed with a
pannikin of tepid water. Morgan and Jeffreys sat and talked quietly,
and called out a cheery word to the three sailors, whose British hearts
were bursting with shame and anger.

In the heat of noon the breeze dropped, and the oars were set
vigorously to work again. His excellency wanted quicker progress to be
made, so the boatswains commenced to chant a rude song as they walked
up and down, and called on the rowers to keep time to the swing of the
tune. The fellows did their best, and some of the Spanish slaves
joined in the chorus. The song, poor as it was heartened them a
little; but the spurt did not last long and the singing ceased. The
boatswains used other means. Sometimes it was a sharp word or an angry
oath, at others a crack of the whip in the air; too often the thong
came down with a cruel cut on bare flesh, and there was a cry or an
oath from the victim and a frantic tugging at the great oar.

Thus the day wore on; long spells of rowing, short periods of rest; and
all the while the slaves grew fainter and yet fainter in their horrible
workroom, and the lash of the whips resounded the more often. Hernando
was lashed twice, for no real reason that his companions could
discover. The second blow curled across the muscle of his arm and
benumbed it for a while, and Johnnie whispered him to move in rhythm
with them, whilst he and Jeffreys did the actual rowing. The fellow
was grateful, and vowed by the Virgin never to forget the kindness.

The late afternoon brought the governor to his first place of call.
Rowing ceased; the anchor was dropped, and the slaves were given their
supper of biscuit, a scrap of meat, and a pannikin of water just
coloured with wine--this last was a special gift from the governor.
Then, wearied and aching, they curle