It is very seldom
that I have heard of conduct so selfish in the navy, or, indeed, in the
merchant service.

I do not want to make out that seamen are better than other men, but I
maintain that they are certainly not worse, and that in many respects
they are as honest and free from vice as any other class of men. One
thing was very certain, we could not hope to overtake him. We must
therefore take care of ourselves as best we could. The leak had been
partially stopped, and if we continued to enjoy fine weather, we might
get into port very well; and, as Andrews observed, "The prize is not
always to the strong, nor the race to the swift." Our consort might run
his head into the very dangers he was so anxious to avoid.

We went on very well for two or three days longer, and then I could not
help remarking that there was a considerable change in the manner of the
Frenchmen. They were far less obedient and civil than they had been,
and when ordered to perform any duty, they went about it in a sulky,
disagreeable manner.

Mr Randolph, I thought, did not observe the change, but I mentioned the
subject to Andrews.

"I'll keep my eye on the fellows," said he. "They'll find it rather
difficult to catch a weasel asleep."

A few days after this we fell in with a westerly breeze, which increased
rapidly into a strong gale, and away we ran before it much faster than
the old _Mouche_ had yet been made to fly.

Unfortunately the sea got up, and the ship began to labour very much.
The consequence was, as we had expected, the leak we had patched up once
more burst open, and it became necessary to keep all hands, watch and
watch, at the pumps. Mr Randolph took his spell like the rest of us,
and no one seemed to work with a more hearty goodwill.

I watched with some anxiety to see what the Frenchmen would do. First
one of them fell down while working at the pumps, and when we picked him
up he said that he was so ill he could not labour any more, but must go
to his hammock. Then another followed his example, and then a third,
and a fourth, till only one remained besides the three blacks, who went
on working away as merrily as ever.

The fifth Frenchman seemed suddenly to get into very good humour, and to
exert himself as much as any of us. Had the gale continued, I believe
that we should all of us really have been knocked up, but happily we
very quickly ran out of it, and once more we had smooth water and a fair
breeze.