After this exploit, both parties seemed inclined to pause and take
breath, and in the interval we made an harangue to the sailors,
expressive of our regret that they should act in so disgraceful a
manner.

The gallant (or rather ungallant) fellows replied that they were
determined to be no longer commanded by a she-captain, as they called
the lady, and therefore would sail no farther in such company.

I really believe that most of them had no serious intention whatever
in their proceedings, but the officers of the ship were firmly
convinced that the carpenter and one or two others had resolved to
get possession of the vessel, dispose of the passengers and mates
somehow or other, and then slip the cable, and wreck and sell the
ship and cargo on the coast of South America.

Whilst the truce lasted, the second mate had been busily engaged
making signals of distress, by repeatedly hoisting and lowering the
ensign reversed, from the mizen-peak. This was soon observed from
the deck of a small Portuguese schooner of war, which lay at anchor
about half a mile from us, having arrived a few hours previously,
bringing the Bishop of some-where-or-other on a visitation to the
island. The attention of the officer of the watch had been
previously attracted towards us by the noise we had made, and the
violent scuffle which he had been observing through his glass. No
sooner, therefore, was the flag reversed, than a boat was lowered
from the quarter-davits, filled with marines, and pulled towards our
vessel with the utmost rapidity. The mutineers, whose attention was
directed entirely to the quarter-deck, did not perceive this
manoeuvre, which, however, was evident enough to us, who exerted