so resolute a temper, and fearing some fresh violence or treachery, set

forth upon his quest for three sure men. The great bulk of the men had

now deserted the deck, which was continually wetted with the flying

sprays, and where they lay exposed to the shrewdness of the winter wind.

They had gathered, instead, into the hold of the merchandise, among the

butts of wine, and lighted by two swinging lanterns.

Here a few kept up the form of revelry, and toasted each other deep in

Arblaster's Gascony wine. But as the Good Hope continued to tear through

the smoking waves, and toss her stem and stern alternately high in air

and deep into white foam, the number of these jolly companions diminished

with every moment and with every lurch. Many sat apart, tending their

hurts, but the majority were already prostrated with sickness, and lay

moaning in the bilge.

Greensheve, Cuckow, and a young fellow of Lord Foxham's whom Dick had

already remarked for his intelligence and spirit, were still, however,

both fit to understand and willing to obey. These Dick set, as a

body-guard, about the person of the steersman, and then, with a last look

at the black sky and sea, he turned and went below into the cabin,

whither Lord Foxham had been carried by his servants.

The Black Arrow