concluded we should soon fall into their hands when the ship was gone.

The sense of this wrought upon my fellow-sufferers even to distraction; and
one of them, being a carpenter, in his mad fit, swam off to the ship in the
night, though she lay then a league to sea, and made such pitiful moan to
be taken in, that the captain was prevailed with at last to take him in,
though they let him lie swimming three hours in the water before he
consented to it.

Upon this, and his humble submission, the captain received him, and, in a
word, the importunity of this man (who for some time petitioned to be taken
in, though they hanged him as soon as they had him) was such as could not
be resisted; for, after he had swam so long about the ship, he was not able
to reach the shore again; and the captain saw evidently that the man must
be taken on board or suffered to drown, and the whole ship's company
offering to be bound for him for his good behaviour, the captain at last
yielded, and he was taken up, but almost dead with his being so long in the
water.

When this man was got in, he never left importuning the captain, and all
the rest of the officers, in behalf of us that were behind, but to the very
last day the captain was inexorable; when, at the time their preparations
were making to sail, and orders given to hoist the boats into the ship, all
the seamen in a body came up to the rail of the quarter-deck, where the
captain was walking with some of his officers, and appointing the boatswain
to speak for them, he went up, and falling on his knees to the captain,
begged of him, in the humblest manner possible, to receive the four men on
board again, offering to answer for their fidelity, or to have them kept in
chains till they came to Lisbon, and there to be delivered up to justice,
rather than, as they said, to have them left to be murdered by savages, or