CHAPTER XVIII
ASCENSION,

HEN night came the little brig was snugged down

so that her small crew could readily reduce the
canvas in case of a decided and sudden change in the
weather, and all-hands believed they would be able to
make the run to Ascension, short-handed as they were,
without any excessive labour.

As a matter of course each of the four men understood
that it was necessary for him to do the work of at least
two able-bodied seamen, and was perfectly satisfied that-
such should be the case, the mutineers, because they
wanted to retrieve themselves in some slight degree, and
Bob and Sam, because of the admiration they felt for the
young captain in the plucky fight he was making against
adverse circumstances.

The entry in the captain’s journal for Saturday, January
12th, the day after the mutineers were vanquished, reads :

“The day begins with light trades, smooth sea, and fine weather.
4.P.M. The trades freshened, and the day ends fair.”

Sunday and Monday the record of the voyage is virtu-
ally the same.
It seemed as if the elements, which had been conspiring