" The men obeyed my orders; they crawled on deck,
rigged the gratings, and stood by. "All is ready, sir," said I, touching
my hat to the captain.
"Send the ship's company aft, Mr Paul."
"Aft, then, all of you, for punishment," cried the boatswain.
"Yes, it is _all of us for punishment_," cried one voice. "We're all to
flog one another, and then pay off the _jollies_."[1]
This time the men obeyed the order; they all appeared on the
quarter-deck. "The men are all aft, sir," reported the boatswain.
"And now, my lads," said the captain, "I'll teach you what mutiny is.
You see the two frigates alongside of us. You had forgotten them, I
suppose, but I hadn't. Here, you scoundrel, Mr Jones"--(this was the Joe
Miller)--"strip, sir. If ever there was mischief in a ship, you are at
the head."
"Head, sir," said the man, assuming a vacant look; "what head, sir? Do
you mean the snake's head? I don't know anything about it, sir."--
"Strip, sir!" cried the captain in a rage; "I'll soon bring you to your
senses."
"If you please, your honour, what have I done to be tied up?" said the
man.
"Strip, you scoundrel!"--"Well, sir, if you please, it's hard to be
flogged for nothing." The man pulled off his clothes, and walked up to
the grating. The quarter-masters seized him up.
"Seized up, sir," reported the scoundrel of a sergeant of marines who
acted as the captain's spy.
The captain looked for the articles of war to read, as is necessary
previous to punishing a man, and was a little puzzled to find one, where
no positive offence had been committed.
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