The
      four men who were lying on the deck were then untied and ordered
      to follow, which they did without attempting any
      resistance—Augustus being still left in his painful position,
      although he struggled and prayed only for the poor satisfaction
      of being permitted to bid his father farewell. A handful of
      sea-biscuit and a jug of water were now handed down; but neither
      mast, sail, oar, nor compass. The boat was towed astern for a few
      minutes, during which the mutineers held another consultation—it
      was then finally cut adrift. By this time night had come on—there
      were neither moon nor stars visible—and a short and ugly sea was
      running, although there was no great deal of wind. The boat was
      instantly out of sight, and little hope could be entertained for
      the unfortunate sufferers who were in it. This event happened,
      however, in latitude 35 degrees 30’ north, longitude 61 degrees
      20’ west, and consequently at no very great distance from the
      Bermuda Islands. Augustus therefore endeavored to console himself
      with the idea that the boat might either succeed in reaching the
      land, or come sufficiently near to be fallen in with by vessels
      off the coast. All sail was now put upon the brig, and she continued her
      original course to the southwest—the mutineers being bent upon
      some piratical expedition, in which, from all that could be
      understood, a ship was to be intercepted on her way from the Cape
      Verd Islands to Porto Rico. No attention was paid to Augustus,
      who was untied and suffered to go about anywhere forward of the
      cabin companion-way. Dirk Peters treated him with some degree of
      kindness, and on one occasion saved him from the brutality of the
      cook. His situation was still one of the most precarious, as the
      men were continually intoxicated, and there was no relying upon
      their continued good-humor or carelessness in regard to himself. His anxiety on my account he represented, however, as the most
      distressing result of his condition; and, indeed, I had never
      reason to doubt the sincerity of his friendship. More than once
      he had resolved to acquaint the mutineers with the secret of my
      being on board, but was restrained from so doing, partly through
      recollection of the atrocities he had already beheld, and partly
      through a hope of being able soon to bring me relief. For the
      latter purpose he was constantly on the watch; but, in spite of
      the most constant vigilance, three days elapsed after the boat
      was cut adrift before any chance occurred. At length, on the
      night of the third day, there came on a heavy blow from the
      eastward, and all hands were called up to take in sail. During
      the confusion which ensued, he made his way below unobserved, and
      into the stateroom. What was his grief and horror in discovering
      that the latter had been rendered a place of deposit for a
      variety of sea-stores and ship-furniture, and that several
      fathoms of old chain-cable, which had been stowed away beneath
      the companion-ladder, had been dragged thence to make room for a
      chest, and were now lying immediately upon the trap! To remove it
      without discovery was impossible, and he returned on deck as
      quickly as he could. As he came up, the mate seized him by the
      throat, and demanding what he had been doing in the cabin, was
      about flinging him over the larboard bulwark, when his life was
      again preserved through the interference of Dirk Peters. Augustus
      was now put in handcuffs (of which there were several pairs on
      board), and his feet lashed tightly together. He was then taken
      into the steerage, and thrown into a lower berth next to the
      forecastle bulkheads, with the assurance that he should never put
      his foot on deck again “until the brig was no longer a brig.”
      This was the expression of the cook, who threw him into the
      berth—it is hardly possible to say what precise meaning intended
      by the phrase. The whole affair, however, proved the ultimate
      means of my relief, as will presently appear. CHAPTER 5


      For some minutes after the cook had left the forecastle, Augustus
      abandoned himself to despair, never hoping to leave the berth
      alive. He now came to the resolution of acquainting the first of
      the men who should come down with my situation, thinking it
      better to let me take my chance with the mutineers than perish of
      thirst in the hold,—for it had been ten days since I was first
      imprisoned, and my jug of water was not a plentiful supply even
      for four. As he was thinking on this subject, the idea came all
      at once into his head that it might be possible to communicate
      with me by the way of the main hold. In any other circumstances,
      the difficulty and hazard of the undertaking would have prevented
      him from attempting it; but now he had, at all events, little
      prospect of life, and consequently little to lose, he bent his
      whole mind, therefore, upon the task. His handcuffs were the first consideration. At first he saw no
      method of removing them, and feared that he should thus be
      baffled in the very outset; but upon a closer scrutiny he
      discovered that the irons could be slipped off and on at
      pleasure, with very little effort or inconvenience, merely by
      squeezing his hands through them,—this species of manacle being
      altogether ineffectual in confining young persons, in whom the
      smaller bones readily yield to pressure. He now untied his feet,
      and, leaving the cord in such a manner that it could easily be
      readjusted in the event of any person’s coming down, proceeded to
      examine the bulkhead where it joined the berth. The partition
      here was of soft pine board, an inch thick, and he saw that he
      should have little trouble in cutting his way through. A voice
      was now heard at the forecastle companion-way, and he had just
      time to put his right hand into its handcuff (the left had not
      been removed) and to draw the rope in a slipknot around his
      ankle, when Dirk Peters came below, followed by Tiger, who
      immediately leaped into the berth and lay down. The dog had been
      brought on board by Augustus, who knew my attachment to the
      animal, and thought it would give me pleasure to have him with me
      during the voyage. He went up to our house for him immediately
      after first taking me into the hold, but did not think of
      mentioning the circumstance upon his bringing the watch.