cumstances, 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. 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. H