The general opinion had been that all hands were bent upon going ashore, and that the ship would be left at our mercy; but this had certainly not been my own view, for I could not believe that a man of Tonkin's intelligence--realising, as he must, the enormity of his offence in not only himself breaking into open rebellion against lawful authority but in inciting others to do the same--would be so rashly imprudent as to leave us free, for a period of several hours, to release my men and to take such other steps as might occur to us for the suppression of the mutiny.
