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Updated: June 17, 2025
He was a remarkably good-looking young fellow, and I noted the fact at the time. Trunnell did not answer the last remark, but held himself very straight in his chair. "Do you believe much in the fellow who was skipper, especially after his tryin' to carve Mr. Rolling?" "I believe him a good sailor," said Trunnell, stiffening up. "Ye don't say?" said the skipper.
Trunnell noticed my hesitation, but said nothing, and the skipper fell to with such a hearty good will that he appeared to entirely forget my presence. I hastily made some excuse to get back on deck, and the little, bushy-headed mate smiled and nodded approvingly at me as I went up the alleyway forward.
Sackett stood with our friend Thompson, better known in the Antipodes as Jackwell, the burglar. As I watched him standing there pointing to us, I thought of poor Jim. "Wheel down," I heard Trunnell bawl as the ship came within fifty fathom. "Slack away that lee brace; steady your wheel." Before the ship's headway had slackened we had out the oars and were rowing for her.
Where they is I don't much keer. They is plenty o' sharrucks in this here ocean, and some parts o' them is most likely helpin' them. The rest is mostly in hell, I reckon, but as I says afore, that is a matter o' mostly guesswork." A dim idea of the horror he had gone through came upon me. "Good God, Trunnell," I said, "did you do it alone?"
I thought he had suffered keenly, and was glad when he stopped drinking and looked me in the eyes without letting his gaze fall in confusion. Sometimes I caught myself wondering at the reticence of the men who had rowed him to the burnt wreck that night, but I found that no one had boarded her except Trunnell and he had sent the boat astern.
I turned in with a strange feeling about the matter forward and the third officer's conduct. Although I knew Trunnell would take care that the ruffian would not get loose again that night during his watch, I took out a heavy revolver from my locker and stuck it under the pillow of my bunk. Then I saw that the door and port were fast before I jammed myself in for a rest.
"Look here, Trunnell," I answered, "you know I'm a sailor even if I'm not much else, and you know how that canvas came to be on her. I'm almost glad it's gone. I would be if it wasn't for the fact that we'll be longer than usual on this run, and I've about made up my mind that the quicker a decent man gets out of this ship, the better."
I saw that it was high time for me to get forward, and slipped away. I turned in ready for a call, thinking that perhaps Trunnell was right in regard to our future prospects in the South Atlantic. When I turned out for the mid-watch that night, Trunnell met me at the door of the forward cabin. It was pitch dark on deck, and the wind had died away almost entirely.
Do ye get on to the game?" "I get on to it well enough," said the fellow, "but what I wants to know is, whether ye'll take me whurd o' honner that I'll catch a string o' bugs afore night, an' give me the rum now to stave off the chill." "I will," said Trunnell. The old man rose from the hatchway, and struggled hard to get into his shirt.
We had plenty of men aboard, and the crew of the Sovereign were turned to each watch and made to do their share. After a few days, Trunnell came to me and told me I might choose a third mate for him out of the men who had been in the Sovereign's crew. None of the men of the Pirate he said were up to a mate's berth, except Johnson, and he, poor fellow, couldn't read or write.
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