casion, after it had been
blowing hard, and the lads had been aloft for a considerable time, they
were both very weary, and after kneeling down and offering up their
prayers as usual, they leaned back, sitting on the coils of a cable,
with the intention of talking together. In a short time, however, both
fell asleep. How long they slept they did not know, but they were awoke
by hearing voices near them. Without difficulty they recognised the
speakers. Higson was among the principal of them. They listened
attentively. Had they been discovered, they felt sure, from what they
heard, that their lives would have paid the forfeit. It was proposed to
seize the ship and put the officers on shore, or should they offer any
resistance to kill them, as had in another instance been done, and then
after going on a buccaneering cruise, to carry the ship into an American
port and sell her, the men hoping to get on shore to enjoy their
ill-gotten booty.

A few years before this a large portion of the English fleet had
mutinied, but they had had many causes of complaint; still their crime
was inexcusable. Most of the ringleaders suffered punishment, and the
crews were pardoned. This lesson seemed to be lost, however, upon
Higson and his associates. They had inflamed each other's minds with
descriptions of the pleasures they would enjoy on shore, and of the
hardships they had at present to undergo. The young lads dared not
move. Every moment they expected to be discovered. Some of the
mutineers, more sanguine than the rest, expressed their determination to
wreak their vengeance upon those who had chiefly offended them, and
young Lord Fitz Barry, with several others, were singled out to undergo
the punishment of death. The first lieutenant also was to be among
their victims. The lads could not tell what hour it was, nor how long
they would have to remain in their present position. They dreaded that
the mutineers would instantly go on deck and carry out their nefarious
plans. Young Denham's chief wish was to hurry off and warn those who
had been chiefly threatened. "If the officers have time to show a bold
front, the men will not dare to act against them," he thought; "but if
they are taken by surprise, the mutineers will treat them as wild beasts
treat the animals which they have caught in their clutches, and will be
sure to tear them in pieces. If they once get the upper hand, they will
kill them all, just as they did i