t is most probable, then, that up to the period I have mentioned they
had no particular dread--at least, no dread of the awful doom that now
threatened them so nearly.

The smoke of the burning cabin rather inclined aft than forward, and had
not reached them, and the flames were not yet sufficiently bright to
illumine the whole vessel with any unnatural light. Of course, from
their position under the hatches, neither cabin nor deck was visible to
them; and until either smoke or flame, or a brilliant light shining
through the grating, should reveal the awful truth, they could not
possibly be aware of their peril. No one had volunteered to announce it
to them, because no one thought it worth while!

They may have observed that all was not right--they may have had
suspicions that there was something amiss. The unusual movements of the
crew--the noises heard upon deck--the hurried trampling of feet, and the
gestures of the sailors, as these passed within sight, with the
terrified expression of their countenances--which could scarce have been
unnoticed--for it was still clear enough for that--all these matters
must have excited the suspicions of the close kept crowd, that there was
something amiss on board the barque. The crashing sound of axes, and
then the shock and heavy lurching of the vessel, as the mast came down,
may have excited other apprehensions besides that of perishing by
thirst; and, though they continued their cries for water, I observed
that they conversed among themselves in hurried mutterings that bespoke
alarm from some other cause.

But as none of them knew anything about a ship or her ways--the
_Pandora_ was the first they had ever looked upon--of course they could
not arrive at any conclusion as to why the unusual movements were going
forward. Guided only by what they heard, they could hardly guess what
was being done. They could not imagine there was a danger of being
wrecked--since there was neither wind nor storm--and after all it might
be some manoeuvre in navigation which they did not comprehend. This
probably would have been their belief had they not observed the odd look
and gestures of such of the sailors as at intervals came near the
grating. These were so wild as to convince them that something was
wrong--that there was danger aboard.

The commotion had produced fears among them, but not proportioned to the
peril. They knew not the nature of their danger, and their alarm had
not y