This discovery made the
officer suspicious, and induced him to make a more thorough search
than usual.
"We heard the uproar that followed the discovery, and the threats of
the mate that he would search every damned corner. He soon arrived at
the round house, and we heard him ask a soldier for the key. Our hopes
and expectations were a little raised when we heard the soldier reply,
'There is no need of searching this place, for the door is kept
constantly locked.'
"But the mate was not to be diverted from his purpose, and ordered the
soldier to get the key.
"During the absence of the soldier, we had a little time to reflect
upon the dangers of our situation; crowded together in a space so
small as not to admit of motion; with no other protection than the
thickness of a board; guarded on the outside by about twelve soldiers,
armed with cutlasses, and the mate, considerably drunk, with a pistol
in each hand, threatening every moment to fire through;--our feelings
may be more easily conceived than described. There was but little time
for deliberation; something must be immediately done. * * * In a
whispered consultation of some moments, we conceived that the safest
course we could pursue would be to break out with all the violence we
could exercise, overcome every obstacle, and reach the quarter-deck.
By this time the soldier had arrived with the key, and upon applying
it, the door was found to be unlocked.
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