mself was so palpably alluded to, there was mixed with it
no small amount of craven apprehension. The stern eye of the captain
ranged over the countenances of the crew, it rested a moment on him. He
quailed before it.

"Pipe down!" cried the captain.

Those of the crew not on duty went below. Many of the more steady men
came up to me, and congratulated me on my escape, and I found in a short
time that I had numbers of friends on board. Had it not been for the
thought of my wife, and of my wish to return home, I should have been
happy.

Iffley never came near me. He seemed to dread me far more than I
dreaded him. I could not conceive what harm he could possibly do me now
that he was known, and must have been aware that he was watched. Still
I felt that it would be wiser to be on my guard against him.

When the excitement of the occurrences I have described had passed away,
a reaction took place, and I once more began to feel the misery of my
position. It seemed like some horrid dream, and sometimes I almost
hoped that I should awake and find that I was at home all the time, and
that the scenes I was going through were but the effects of a dreadful
nightmare.

I frequently found myself reasoning on the subject, but there was a
vividness and reality about everything which made me too justly doubt
the soundness of my hopes. I had, before I was pressed, more than once
been afflicted with a dream so like the present reality, that, as I say,
I nearly persuaded myself that I was dreaming now. I had been torn away
from my wife without being able to tell her where I was going. I sailed
over strange seas without a kit, and without any preparation for the
voyage; cast upon strange lands among savages, and had barely escaped
with my life; I had wandered about among a variety of extraordinary
scenes, and I had found on awaking that scarcely an hour had passed
since I fell asleep. But day after day went by, and at length I felt
very well assured that I was not dreaming a dream, but living through
the sad reality. My great desire was to write home, at least to say
where I was, and that I was well; but no opportunity occurred, not a
homeward-bound ship did we pass.

We had been several weeks at sea, when one morning two sail were
reported in sight from the masthead. They were standing towards us.
The idea was that they were two homeward-bound English merchantmen. I
accordingly got ready a letter to send home by one