330 NIMROD OF THE SEA; OB, 



disobedience and mutinous conduct, and he informed us that 

 we were wretched outcasts,, beyond the pale of human so- 

 ciety and law; penniless, and of no account. Amen, we 

 thought ; we can lose no more, and so we held our course. 



Our spokesman was now pushed forward to ask him "to 

 read the law which authorized the punishment of the lash, 

 without even the form of trial." For a short time the cap- 

 tain turned the leaves of the book, but he failed to find the 

 law he sought. Then, with a threatening glance down our 

 line, he took up both pistols, ready cocked, and said, " This 

 is the law by which I will flog this man." He added to this 

 a remarkable expression, characteristic of the whaling-cap- 

 tain : " On the other side of the land I have my masters, the 

 owners, and One above; but on this side of the cape I am 

 master on board this ship." And stepping forward a pace 

 or two, with pistol in one hand, and "colt" in the other, he 

 continued, " I will flog that man, or any other of you, who 

 may give occasion, and I give you fair warning that I will 

 send a bullet through any man who interferes !" 



Now came the crisis ; and very quietly was it met ! The 

 crew filed across the deck in double line between the after- 

 hatch and the rail, between the captain and Bingham. Res- 

 olute old Tom then turned, and with his sheath-knife sev- 

 ered the yarns which held the captive's wrists, and told him 

 to " cut his lucky " and go forward. It was too plain a 

 case. The captain saw in the faces' of the men that the 

 death of one would not deter them, and there was a crouch 

 preparatory to the spring apparent in their bodies which 

 showed that short shrift might be his if he fired. No sin- 

 gle man on earth could have faced down the quiet resolu- 

 tion of that band, I am certain. 



Now all was quiet on the drifting ship. The cook failed 

 to appear with breakfast, and a committee waited on him to 

 remind him of the fact. It was surprising how soon he cor- 



