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Omoo by Herman Melville
page 100 of 387 (25%)

DURING THE scenes just described, Doctor Johnson was engaged in
examining the sick, of whom, as it turned out, all but two were to
remain in the ship. He had evidently received his cue from Wilson.

One of the last called below into the cabin, just as the quarter-deck
gathering dispersed, I came on deck quite incensed. My lameness,
which, to tell the truth, was now much better, was put down as, in a
great measure, affected; and my name was on the list of those who
would be fit for any duty in a day or two. This was enough. As for
Doctor Long Ghost, the shore physician, instead of extending to him
any professional sympathy, had treated him very cavalierly. To a
certain extent, therefore, we were now both bent on making common
cause with the sailors.

I must explain myself here. All we wanted was to have the ship snugly
anchored in Papeetee Bay; entertaining no doubt that, could this be
done, it would in some way or other peaceably lead to our
emancipation. Without a downright mutiny, there was but one way to
accomplish this: to induce the men to refuse all further duty, unless
it were to work the vessel in. The only difficulty lay in restraining
them within proper bounds. Nor was it without certain misgivings,
that I found myself so situated, that I must necessarily link myself,
however guardedly, with such a desperate company; and in an
enterprise, too, of which it was hard to conjecture what might be the
result. But anything like neutrality was out of the question; and
unconditional submission was equally so.

On going forward, we found them ten times more tumultuous than ever.
After again restoring some degree of tranquillity, we once more urged
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