between two of the most excited, in which one of them was
stabbed in the breast. As I understood something of surgery, I was
called upon to dress and bandage the wound, and whilst I was thus
engaged the company departed in the boats, the gentlemen in a high
state of excitement and much pleased with their bargains.

When all was quiet on board, the captain called to him the man who had
escaped from the combat unhurt, and inquired into the cause of the
bloody fray. And now a fearful secret came to light. The man revealed
a conspiracy against the captain, headed by one of the officers, which
had been in progress for a month. The officer who commanded it had
asked leave of absence, and was at that time on land, engaged in
perfecting his plan, which was, to fall upon the captain and murder
him with the greater part of the crew. The wounded sailor had belonged
to this conspiracy, which was frightful enough, and so angered the
captain that he was almost beside himself with rage. He forthwith
called together the whole ship's company and made known to them the
plot he had discovered. He had scarcely finished speaking when fierce
cries for revenge arose among the crew; they rushed below, and in a
few minutes dragged up the wounded sailor, hacked off his arms and
legs, plunged their knives into his body, and threw it overboard.
They then dragged out his chest; destroyed and tore to rags every
thing in it, and in a perfect frenzy of rage, threw it into the sea
also. Then the watch was trebled and set; all sharpened their daggers
and knives, and prepared for an attack. But the night passed and
nothing occurred.

On the following afternoon, a sail appeared, which steered towards us;
the captain took the spy glass, and instantly recognized the boat
which had carried the treacherous officer and part of the crew on land
the day before.

"Here come the conspirators," he cried, with a fearful curse, "we'll
give them the welcome they deserve. Thirty of you load your muskets
and be ready."

When the boat was within a short distance of us, it stopped and
hoisted a white flag in token of peace; the captain did the same, and
the boat then approached perfectly unsuspiciously. When they were
within musket shot, the captain ordered his men to fire. Five men fell
dead, a sixth sprang into the sea, and the rest turned and rowed away.
The captain sent a boat out after the unhappy wretch who was in the
water, and in less than five minutes they d