lieutenant, and whose duties were many and varied under the orders of the
captain. Greenock chose to stay, though Dyck said he could go if he
wished. Greenock's reply was that it was his duty to stay, if the ship
was going to remain at sea, for no one else could perform his duties or
do his work.

Then, by vote, Dyck became captain of the ship. He did not, however,
wear a captain's uniform--blue coat, with white cuffs, flat gold buttons;
with lace at the neck, a white-sleeved waistcoat, knee-breeches, white
silk stockings, and a three-cornered black hat edged with gold lace and
ornamented with a cockade; with a black cravat, a straight dress sword,
a powdered cue tied with a black-silk ribbon, and epaulets of heavy gold
stuff completing the equipment. Dyck, to the end of his career at sea,
wore only the common seaman's uniform.

Dyck would not have accepted the doubtful honour had he not had long
purposes in view. With Ferens, Michael Clones, and two others whom
Ferens could trust, a plan was arranged which Dyck explained to his
fellow-seamen on the Ariadne.

"We've come to the parting of the ways, brothers," he said. "We've all
become liable to death for mutiny. The pardon offered by the King has
been refused, and fresh demands are made. There, I think, a real wrong
has been done by our people. The Ariadne is well supplied with food and
water. It is the only ship with sufficiency. And why? Because at the
beginning we got provisions from the shore in time; also we got
permission from Richard Parker to fill our holds from two stopped
merchant-ships. Well, the rest of the fleet know what our food and drink
fitment is. They know how safe we are, and to-day orders have come to
yield our provisions to the rest of the fleet. That is, we, who have