Those only who have been suddenly redeemed from the
      jaws of the tomb, or who have known the insufferable torments of
      thirst under circumstances as aggravated as those which
      encompassed me in my dreary prison, can form any idea of the
      unutterable transports which that one long draught of the richest
      of all physical luxuries afforded. When I had in some degree satisfied my thirst, Augustus produced
      from his pocket three or four boiled potatoes, which I devoured
      with the greatest avidity. He had brought with him a light in a
      dark lantern, and the grateful rays afforded me scarcely less
      comfort than the food and drink. But I was impatient to learn the
      cause of his protracted absence, and he proceeded to recount what
      had happened on board during my incarceration. CHAPTER 4


      The brig put to sea, as I had supposed, in about an hour after he
      had left the watch. This was on the twentieth of June. It will be
      remembered that I had then been in the hold for three days; and,
      during this period, there was so constant a bustle on board, and
      so much running to and fro, especially in the cabin and
      staterooms, that he had had no chance of visiting me without the
      risk of having the secret of the trap discovered. When at length
      he did come, I had assured him that I was doing as well as
      possible; and, therefore, for the two next days he felt but
      little uneasiness on my account—still, however, watching an
      opportunity of going down. It was not until the fourth day that
      he found one. Several times during this interval he had made up
      his mind to let his father know of the adventure, and have me
      come up at once; but we were still within reaching distance of
      Nantucket, and it was doubtful, from some expressions which had
      escaped Captain Barnard, whether he would not immediately put
      back if he discovered me to be on board. Besides, upon thinking
      the matter over, Augustus, so he told me, could not imagine that
      I was in immediate want, or that I would hesitate, in such case,
      to make myself heard at the trap. When, therefore, he considered
      everything he concluded to let me stay until he could meet with
      an opportunity of visiting me unobserved. This, as I said before,
      did not occur until the fourth day after his bringing me the
      watch, and the seventh since I had first entered the hold. He
      then went down without taking with him any water or provisions,
      intending in the first place merely to call my attention, and get
      me to come from the box to the trap,—when he would go up to the
      stateroom and thence hand me down a supply. When he descended for
      this purpose he found that I was asleep, for it seems that I was
      snoring very loudly. From all the calculations I can make on the
      subject, this must have been the slumber into which I fell just
      after my return from the trap with the watch, and which,
      consequently, must have lasted for more than three entire days
      and nights at the very least. Latterly, I have had reason both
      from my own experience and the assurance of others, to be
      acquainted with the strong soporific effects of the stench
      arising from old fish-oil when closely confined; and when I think
      of the condition of the hold in which I was imprisoned, and the
      long period during which the brig had been used as a whaling
      vessel, I am more inclined to wonder that I awoke at all, after
      once falling asleep, than that I should have slept
      uninterruptedly for the period specified above. Augustus called to me at first in a low voice and without closing
      the trap—but I made him no reply. He then shut the trap, and
      spoke to me in a louder, and finally in a very loud tone—still I
      continued to snore. He was now at a loss what to do. It would
      take him some time to make his way through the lumber to my box,
      and in the meanwhile his absence would be noticed by Captain
      Barnard, who had occasion for his services every minute, in
      arranging and copying papers connected with the business of the
      voyage. He determined, therefore, upon reflection, to ascend, and
      await another opportunity of visiting me. He was the more easily
      induced to this resolve, as my slumber appeared to be of the most
      tranquil nature, and he could not suppose that I had undergone
      any inconvenience from my incarceration. He had just made up his
      mind on these points when his attention was arrested by an
      unusual bustle, the sound of which proceeded apparently from the
      cabin. He sprang through the trap as quickly as possible, closed
      it, and threw open the door of his stateroom. No sooner had he
      put his foot over the threshold than a pistol flashed in his
      face, and he was knocked down, at the same moment, by a blow from
      a handspike. A strong hand held him on the cabin floor, with a tight grasp
      upon his throat; still he was able to see what was going on
      around him. His father was tied hand and foot, and lying along
      the steps of the companion-way, with his head down, and a deep
      wound in the forehead, from which the blood was flowing in a
      continued stream. He spoke not a word, and was apparently dying. Over him stood the first mate, eyeing him with an expression of
      fiendish derision, and deliberately searching his pockets, from
      which he presently drew forth a large wallet and a chronometer. Seven of the crew (among whom was the cook, a negro) were
      rummaging the staterooms on the larboard for arms, where they
      soon equipped themselves with muskets and ammunition. Besides
      Augustus and Captain Barnard, there were nine men altogether in
      the cabin, and these among the most ruffianly of the brig’s
      company. The villains now went upon deck, taking my friend with
      them after having secured his arms behind his back. They
      proceeded straight to the forecastle, which was fastened down—two
      of the mutineers standing by it with axes—two also at the main
      hatch. The mate called out in a loud voice: “Do you hear there
      below? tumble up with you, one by one—now, mark that—and no
      grumbling!” It was some minutes before any one appeared:—at last
      an Englishman, who had shipped as a raw hand, came up, weeping
      piteously, and entreating the mate, in the most humble manner, to
      spare his life. The only reply was a blow on the forehead from an
      axe. The poor fellow fell to the deck without a groan, and the
      black cook lifted him up in his arms as he would a child, and
      tossed him deliberately into the sea.