ves.
Me thinks we have trouble before long.'

"The next day one of the mates came in with a bucket of water. 'There!
you skulking young hound,' he said as he threw it over me; 'you'd best
get out, or the skipper will come and rouse you up himself.'

"I staggered on to the floor. I had made up my mind to sham weak, but
I did not need to pretend at first, for having been six weeks in bed, I
felt strange and giddy when I got up. I slipped on my clothes and went
out on deck, staggered to the bulwarks and held on. The fresh air soon
set me straight, and I felt that I was pretty strong again. However, I
pretended to be able to scarce stand, and, holding on by the bulwark,
made my way aft.

"'You young dog,' the skipper said, 'you've been shamming for the last
six weeks. I reckon I'll sharpen you up now,' and he hit me a heavy blow
with a rattan he held in his hand. There was a cry of 'Shame!' from some
of the men. As quick as thought the skipper pulled a pistol from his
pocket.

"'Who cried "Shame"?'" he asked looking round.

"No one answered. Still holding the pistol in his hand he gave me
several more cuts, and then told me to swab the deck. I did it,
pretending all the time I was scarce strong enough to keep my feet. Then
I made my way forward and sat down against the bulwark, as if nigh done
up, till night came. That night as I lay in my bunk I heard the men
talking in whispers together. I judged from what they said that they
intended to wait for another week, when they expected to enter Magellan
Straits, and then to attack and throw the officers overboard. Nothing
seemed settled as to what they would do afterwards. Some were in favor
of continuing the voyage to port, and there giving out that the captain
and officers had been washed overboard in a storm; when, if all stood
true to each other, the truth could never be known, although suspicions
might arise. The others, however, insisted that you never could be sure
of every one, and that some one would be sure to peach. They argued
in favor of sailing west and beaching the ship on one of the Pacific
islands, where they could live comfortably and take wives among the
native women. If they were ever found they could then say that the ship
was blown out of her course and wrecked there, and that the captain and
officers had been drowned or killed by the natives. It seemed to me
that this party were the strongest. For the next week I was thrashed and
kicked every day and