se of action which had been determined on by the band a
few days before; but he could not carry it out unless assisted by the
two mutineers, and, as they could not be coaxed to listen to reason,
they must be compelled. He would punish them for their disobedience, and
show them, once for all, that his authority could not be resisted with
impunity.

"Friday," said he, "I'll never forget you fur this night's work. You've
got the best name of any of us, an' so has Will Atkins. The Friday the
book tells about stuck to Crusoe like a brother, an' Atkins done nothin'
but study up meanness an' mischief. Our Atkins is doin' the same thing;
but he won't make nothin', no more'n the one he's named after did. He'll
be glad enough to come to terms by mornin', now you see if he aint. We
don't intend to let him an' Jack Spaniard go back to the village to blow
on us, an' the first thing to be done is to fasten 'em in the cove, so
that we can find 'em when we want 'em."

"How are we goin' to do it?" asked Friday.

"We'll take down the bridge," replied the governor, with a chuckle, "an'
then let's see 'em get out. They don't know the channels across the
shoals, so, of course, they won't dare to try to sail out; an' after the
bridge is gone, there's only one way they can get across the gully. I'll
larn 'em how to get up a mutiny."

The chief, after lighting his lantern, led the way down the path, and
presently came to a halt on the brink of the chasm. Atkins and Jack
Spaniard having crossed it a few minutes before, the rope was on the
opposite side, and Friday could see no way to obtain possession of it.

"I'll tell you how I am goin' to manage it," said the governor, in
answer to an inquiring glance from his companion. "I told you there is
one way to get across, even after the bridge is gone, didn't I? Well, do
you see this tree here? It leans over the gully, an' one of its limbs
runs into the tree on the opposite side that the rope is made fast to."

Friday elevated his lantern and gazed up into the darkness, but could
see nothing more than a dense canopy of leaves and branches hanging over
the chasm. He shuddered at the thought of attempting to cross on so
frail a bridge. "I wouldn't go up there fur nothin'," said he, "an' I
wouldn't advise you to try it, either."

"Well, it aint the pleasantest job in the world," replied Sam,
carelessly, "but I know just where the limb is, an' I am sure I can
cross on it. Howsomever, I am free to