ation which a few days
back we had deemed so inadequate to supply our wants, and which now,
eked out crumb by crumb, might, perhaps, serve for several days? In the
streets of a besieged city, dire as the distress may be, some gutter,
some rubbish-heap, some corner may yet be found that will furnish a
dry bone or a scrap of refuse that may for a moment allay the pangs
of hunger; but these bare planks, so many times washed clean by the
relentless waves, offer nothing to our eager search, and after every
fragment of food that the wind carried into their interstices has been
scraped out devoured, our resources are literally at an end.

The nights seem even longer than the days. Sleep, when it comes, brings
no relief; it is rather a feverish stupour, broken and disturbed by
frightful nightmares. Last night, however, overcome by fatigue, I
managed to rest for several hours.

At six o'clock this morning I was roused by the sound of angry voices,
and, starting up, I saw Owen and Jynxstrop, with Flaypole, Wilson,
Burke, and Sandon, standing in a threatening attitude. They had taken
possession of the carpenter's tools, and now, armed with hatchets,
chisels, and hammers, they were preparing to attack the captain, the
boatswain, and Dowlas. I attached myself in a moment to Curtis's party.
Falsten followed my example, and although our knives were the only
weapons at our disposal, we were ready to defend ourselves to the very
last extremity.

Owen and his men advanced towards us. The miserable wretches were
all drunk, for during the night they had knocked a hole in the
brandy-barrel, and had recklessly swallowed its contents. What they
wanted they scarcely seemed to know, but Owen and Jynxstrop, not quite
so much intoxicated as the rest; seemed to be urging them on to massacre
the captain and the officers.

"Down with the captain! Overboard with Curtis! Owen shall take the
command!" they shouted from time to time in their drunken fury; and,
armed as they were, they appeared completely masters of the situation.

"Now, then, down with your arms!" said Curtis sternly, as he advanced to
meet them.

"Overboard with the captain!" howled Owen, as by word and gesture he
urged on his accomplices.

Curtis' pushed aside the excited rascals, and, walking straight up to
Owen, asked him what he wanted.

"What do we want? Why, we want no more captains; we are all equals now."

Poor stupid fool! as though misery and privation had not alre