, these
merchants believing much profit might come to them in the way of getting
gold.

The whole business was to be under the control of Captain Bartholomew
Gosnold, who, it was said, had already made one voyage to the new world,
and had brought back word that it was a goodly place in which to settle
and to build up towns. The one chosen to act as admiral of the fleet,
for there were to be three ships instead of one, as I had fancied, was
Captain Christopher Newport, a man who had no little fame as a seaman.

In due time, as the preparations for the voyage were being forwarded,
I was sent by my master into lodgings at Blackwall, just below London
town, for the fleet lay nearby, and because it was understood by those
in charge of the adventure that I was in Captain Smith's service, no
hindrance was made to my going on board the vessels.

THE VESSELS OF THE FLEET

These were three in number, as I have already said: the Constant, a ship
of near to one hundred tons in size; the Goodspeed, of forty tons, and
the Discovery, which was a pinnace of only twenty tons.

And now, lest some who read what I have set down may not be acquainted
with the words used by seamen, let me explain that the measurement of
a vessel by tons, means that she will fill so much space in the water.
Now, in measuring a vessel, a ton is reckoned as forty cubic feet of
space, therefore when I say the Susan Constant was one hundred tons
in size, it is the same as if I had set down that she would carry four
thousand cubic feet of cargo.

That he who reads may know what I mean by a pinnace, as differing from
a ship, I can best make it plain by saying that such a craft is an open
boat, wherein may be used sails or oars, and, as in the case of the
Discovery, may have a deck over a certain portion of her length. That
our pinnace was a vessel able to withstand such waves as would be met
with in the ocean, can be believed when you remember that she was one
half the size of the Goodspeed, which we counted a ship.

HOW I EARNED MY PASSAGE

Captain Smith, my master, found plenty of work for me during the weeks
before the fleet sailed. He had many matters to be set down in writing,
and because of my mother's care in teaching me to use the quill, I was
able, or so it seemed to me, to be of no little aid to him in those busy
days, when it was as if he must do two or three things at the same time
in order to bring his business to an end. I lea