told him
not to say anything more to us about it."

"Yes," agreed the skipper, "I fancy you have got the hang of the thing
pretty accurately, bos'n; but it was a pity that it never occurred to
either of you to mention the matter to me or Mr Bligh. It would have
given us a notion of what was brewing, and put us on our guard."

But Murdock, Parsons, and Simpson all vehemently protested that Lloyd's
remarks were of so very general a character, and bore so striking a
resemblance to the ordinary "grousing" universally met with in a ship's
forecastle, which really means nothing, that it never occurred to either
of them to attach any especial significance to what unfortunately had
proved to be an exceptional case. A great deal more was said upon the
matter before it was dropped; but the remarks were mostly of a desultory
character, and as they have no particular bearing upon the thread of
this story it is unnecessary to repeat them.

CHAPTER TWO.

TURNED ADRIFT.

The _Zenobia_ continued to run to the westward during the whole of that
day before a wind that steadily softened down, hour after hour, until by
two bells in the first dog-watch it was little more than a mere
breathing, scarcely strong enough to keep the heavy courses filled. And
we could tell by the motion of the ship that the sea as well as the wind
was going down, for by the time that the above-named hour arrived we
were bowing and swaying upon the fast-subsiding swell as easily and
gently as though the ship had been a cradle rocked by a mother's hand.

Things had been tolerably quiet out on deck during the forenoon, but
later on, when the men had turned-to after their dinner, we heard sounds
outside the house which indicated a considerable amount of activity on
the part of the mutineers; the booms and planks which were stowed on the
roof of our prison were overhauled, and several of them were flung down
on deck; then "Welshy" came in and cast loose the carpenter, ordering
him to bring his chest of tools outside. This was presently followed by
the sounds of sawing and hammering; later on we heard certain orders
being given which indicated that the mast and yard tackles were being
sent aloft; and finally there was a great commotion and laughing out on
deck, intermingled with the alarmed bleatings of some sheep, which were
housed in the longboat.

"Ah," ejaculated the skipper as these last-named sounds reached our
ears, "I know what that means! They