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Even Dillon, to whom the report of their danger had found its way, crept from his place of concealment in the cabin, and moved about the decks unheeded, devouring, with greedy ears, such opinions as fell from the lips of the sullen mariners. At this moment of appalling apprehension, the cockswain exhibited the calmest resignation.
The governor having received information that these two men with several other natives were in Collins's-Cove, went thither, accompanied by several other gentlemen, and they were all unarmed; this unfortunate want of necessary caution had very near proved fatal to the governor; the particulars of this accident were related to me by an officer who was of the party, and were, as near as I can recollect, as follows: On Thursday the 7th of September, the governor, with a few other gentlemen, went down to the look-out, in order to fix on a spot for erecting a column, or pyramid, as a mark, by which strangers might, at sea, the better know the harbour; and were returning, when they were met by a boat which had been landing a party of gentlemen, who intended walking along the coast to Broken-bay: by the cockswain of this boat, the governor was informed, that Mr.
Barnstable listened attentively, and with increasing concern, for he well knew that his cockswain possessed a quick and almost unerring judgment of the weather, notwithstanding the confused medley of superstitious omens and signs with which it was blended; but again throwing himself back in his boat, he muttered: "Then let it blow; Griffith is worth a heavier risk, and if the battery can't be cheated, it can be carried."
Upon the strand, and close opposite to the small gate which now stood ajar, lay one of her boats, the crew of which had abandoned her with the exception only of a single individual, apparently her cockswain, who, with the tiller under his arm, lay half extended in the stern-sheets, his naked chest exposed, and his tarpaulin hat shielding his eyes from the sun while he indulged in profound repose.
With this the young man bent lustily to his oars, while Bim sat in the stern of the skiff, alert to every movement made by his master, and swaying his body like that of a genuine cockswain.
"Ay, if there was nothing but the wind, we might yet live to see the sun sink behind them hills," said the cockswain; "but what hemp can stand the strain of a craft that is buried, half the time, to her foremast in the water?"
"Name it, friend," cried the cockswain, rising from his seat in evident perturbation, "and if it lies in the power of man, it shall be done." "Nay," said the captain, dropping his hand familiarly on the shoulder of the other, who listened with the most eager attention, "'tis easily done, and no dreadful thing in itself; you are used to gunpowder, and know its smell from otto of roses!"
The cockswain still remained where he had cast off the rope, and beheld the numerous heads and arms that appeared rising, at short intervals, on the waves; some making powerful and well-directed efforts to gain the sands, that were becoming visible as the tide fell, and others wildly tossed in the frantic movements of helpless despair.
I jumped up, and running out of the tent, saw the cockswain standing like a nautical statue, motionless, gazing upwards, and with a stick grasped firmly in his hand.
He was hardly more than a boy, but he was obeyed; not only the side-ladder, but the gangway steps were rigged; and leaving the cockswain and bow oarsman to care for the boat, the young officer climbed aboard, followed by the rest nine muscular man-of-war's-men, each armed with cutlass and pistol, one of them carrying a hand-bag, another a bundle.
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