At Sunset They Were Both Out Of Sight, And We Were
Once More Upon The Ocean Where Sky And Water Meet.
CHAPTER XXX
BEGINNING THE LONG RETURN VOYAGE - A SCARE
At eight o'clock all hands were called aft, and the watches set for
the voyage. Some changes were made; but I was glad to find myself
still in the larboard watch. Our crew was somewhat diminished;
for a man and a boy had gone in the Pilgrim; another was second
mate of the Ayacucho; and a third, the oldest man of the crew,
had broken down under the hard work and constant exposure on the
coast, and, having had a stroke of the palsy, was left behind at
the hide-house under the charge of Captain Arthur. The poor fellow
wished very much to come home in the ship; and he ought to have
been brought home in her. But a live dog is better than a dead
lion, and a sick sailor belongs to nobody's mess; so he was sent
ashore with the rest of the lumber, which was only in the way.
By these diminutions, we were short-handed for a voyage round
Cape Horn in the dead of winter. Besides S - - - and myself,
there were only five in the forecastle; who, together with four
boys in the steerage, the sailmaker, carpenter, etc., composed the
whole crew. In addition to this, we were only three or four days
out, when the sailmaker, who was the oldest and best seaman on
board, was taken with the palsy, and was useless for the rest of the
voyage.
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