Since
      the mutiny, Augustus had not seen him before his appearance with
      Dirk Peters, and had given him up for lost, supposing him to have
      been thrown overboard by some of the malignant villains belonging
      to the mate’s gang. It appeared afterward that he had crawled
      into a hole beneath a whale-boat, from which, not having room to
      turn round, he could not extricate himself. Peters at last let
      him out, and, with a species of good feeling which my friend knew
      well how to appreciate, had now brought him to him in the
      forecastle as a companion, leaving at the same time some salt
      junk and potatoes, with a can of water, he then went on deck,
      promising to come down with something more to eat on the next
      day. When he had gone, Augustus freed both hands from the manacles and
      unfastened his feet. He then turned down the head of the mattress
      on which he had been lying, and with his penknife (for the
      ruffians had not thought it worth while to search him) commenced
      cutting vigorously across one of the partition planks, as closely
      as possible to the floor of the berth. He chose to cut here,
      because, if suddenly interrupted, he would be able to conceal
      what had been done by letting the head of the mattress fall into
      its proper position. For the remainder of the day, however, no
      disturbance occurred, and by night he had completely divided the
      plank. It should here be observed that none of the crew occupied
      the forecastle as a sleeping-place, living altogether in the
      cabin since the mutiny, drinking the wines and feasting on the
      sea-stores of Captain Barnard, and giving no more heed than was
      absolutely necessary to the navigation of the brig. These
      circumstances proved fortunate both for myself and Augustus; for,
      had matters been otherwise, he would have found it impossible to
      reach me. As it was, he proceeded with confidence in his design. It was near daybreak, however, before he completed the second
      division of the board (which was about a foot above the first
      cut), thus making an aperture quite large enough to admit his
      passage through with facility to the main orlop deck. Having got
      here, he made his way with but little trouble to the lower main
      hatch, although in so doing he had to scramble over tiers of
      oil-casks piled nearly as high as the upper deck, there being
      barely room enough left for his body. Upon reaching the hatch he
      found that Tiger had followed him below, squeezing between two
      rows of the casks. It was now too late, however, to attempt
      getting to me before dawn, as the chief difficulty lay in passing
      through the close stowage in the lower hold. He therefore
      resolved to return, and wait till the next night. With this
      design, he proceeded to loosen the hatch, so that he might have
      as little detention as possible when he should come again. No
      sooner had he loosened it than Tiger sprang eagerly to the small
      opening produced, snuffed for a moment, and then uttered a long
      whine, scratching at the same time, as if anxious to remove the
      covering with his paws. There could be no doubt, from his
      behaviour, that he was aware of my being in the hold, and
      Augustus thought it possible that he would be able to get to me
      if he put him down. He now hit upon the expedient of sending the
      note, as it was especially desirable that I should make no
      attempt at forcing my way out at least under existing
      circumstances, and there could be no certainty of his getting to
      me himself on the morrow as he intended. After-events proved how
      fortunate it was that the idea occurred to him as it did; for,
      had it not been for the receipt of the note, I should undoubtedly
      have fallen upon some plan, however desperate, of alarming the
      crew, and both our lives would most probably have been sacrificed
      in consequence. Having concluded to write, the difficulty was now to procure the
      materials for so doing. An old toothpick was soon made into a
      pen; and this by means of feeling altogether, for the
      between-decks was as dark as pitch. Paper enough was obtained
      from the back of a letter—a duplicate of the forged letter from
      Mr. Ross. This had been the original draught; but the handwriting
      not being sufficiently well imitated, Augustus had written
      another, thrusting the first, by good fortune, into his
      coat-pocket, where it was now most opportunely discovered. Ink
      alone was thus wanting, and a substitute was immediately found
      for this by means of a slight incision with the pen-knife on the
      back of a finger just above the nail—a copious flow of blood
      ensuing, as usual, from wounds in that vicinity. The note was now
      written, as well as it could be in the dark and under the
      circumstances. It briefly explained that a mutiny had taken
      place; that Captain Barnard was set adrift; and that I might
      expect immediate relief as far as provisions were concerned, but
      must not venture upon making any disturbance. It concluded with
      these words: “_I have scrawled this with blood—your life depends
      upon lying close._”

      This slip of paper being tied upon the dog, he was now put down
      the hatchway, and Augustus made the best of his way back to the
      forecastle, where he found no reason to believe that any of the
      crew had been in his absence. To conceal the hole in the
      partition, he drove his knife in just above it, and hung up a
      pea-jacket which he found in the berth. His handcuffs were then
      replaced, and also the rope around his ankles. These arrangements were scarcely completed when Dirk Peters came
      below, very drunk, but in excellent humour, and bringing with him
      my friend’s allowance of provision for the day. This consisted of
      a dozen large Irish potatoes roasted, and a pitcher of water. He
      sat for some time on a chest by the berth, and talked freely
      about the mate and the general concerns of the brig. His
      demeanour was exceedingly capricious, and even grotesque. At one
      time Augustus was much alarmed by odd conduct. At last, however,
      he went on deck, muttering a promise to bring his prisoner a good
      dinner on the morrow. During the day two of the crew (harpooners)
      came down, accompanied by the cook, all three in nearly the last
      stage of intoxication. Like Peters, they made no scruple of
      talking unreservedly about their plans. It appeared that they
      were much divided among themselves as to their ultimate course,
      agreeing in no point, except the attack on the ship from the Cape
      Verd Islands, with which they were in hourly expectation of
      meeting.