the quill, I was able, or so it seemed to me, to be of no little
aid to him in those busy days, when it was as if he must do two or
three things at the same time in order to bring his business to
an end. I learned during that time to care very dearly for this
valiant soldier, who could, when the fit was on him, be as tender
and kind as a girl, and again, when he was crossed, as stern a man
as one might find in all London town.

Because of my labors, and it pleased me greatly that I could do
somewhat toward forwarding the adventure, I had no time in which to
search for my friend, Nathaniel Peacock, although I did not cease
to hope that he would try to find me.

I had parted with him in the city, and he knew right well where
I was going; yet, so far as I could learn, he had never come to
Blackwall.

I had no doubt but that I could find him in the city, and it was
in my mind, at the first opportunity, to seek him out, if for no
other reason than that we might part as comrades should, for he
had been a true friend to me when my heart was sore; but from the
moment the sailors began to put the cargo on board the Susan Constant
and the Goodspeed, I had no chance to wander around Blackwall, let
alone journeying to London.

Then came the twentieth of December, when we were to set sail,
and great was the rejoicing among the people, who believed that
we would soon build up a city in the new world, which would be of
great wealth and advantage to those in England.