, with his bullying,
self-sufficient air. "We are to tell you what our plan is, and let you
adopt it or not, as you please! No, sir!"

"We pledge ourselves beforehand to keep your secret, whether we join
with you or not."

"We won't trust you."

"Very well," added Raymond, decidedly. "Nothing more need be said.
Come, fellows."

The leader of the mild party turned on his heel, and moved aft,
followed by his adherents.

"What do you suppose they mean to do?" asked Lindsley, as they halted
under the skylight, near the middle of the steerage.

"I don't know; but it must be something desperate to compel the
principal to put back," replied Raymond. "It may be to make a few
auger-holes in the bottom of the ship."

"I wouldn't do anything of that sort," added Lindsley, shaking his
head.

"No matter what it is; we offered to do the fair thing."

"Suppose you had agreed to keep still, and they had proposed to bore
holes in the bottom of the ship; would you have kept your promise, and
said nothing about it?" asked Lindsley.

"I would not have let them do it; and then there would have been
nothing to conceal," answered Raymond.

"Precisely so! That's a good idea. Why not agree to their proposition,
and then, if they mean to do anything which endangers the ship, we can
easily prevent them from doing it," said Lindsley, who was exceedingly
curious to know what the runaways wished to do.

Others were affected with the same desire, and their curiosity was
rapidly overcoming their prudence. While they were discussing the
question, Hyde and his party, seeing that Raymond and his associates
had withdrawn from the runaways, came to the spot, and disturbed the
conference with irrelevant questions. If all the mild mutineers could
be induced to cling together, they could easily overrule Howe and his
party. Just then, there was not that unity which alone insures success.
There were actually three parties in the steerage, and it was necessary
to reconcile them, or the rebellion would end in an ignominious
failure. But this was found to be quite impossible, so far as Hyde and
his party were concerned; for if the boatswain's call had sounded at
that moment, they would have returned to their duty, if permitted to do
so. Raymond would not consent to make terms with Howe, without the
concurrence of all the others, including Hyde.

Howe was quite as much disgusted with the situation as any of the
milder rebels. He had hoped and expe