Vigilance, while on watch, and obedience to the orders of the
vessel, in the event of an alarm, were the principal things dwelt
on. By observing these two great requisites, we should all be safe
enough; whereas, by disregarding them, we should probably share the
fate of the people of the brig, of which we had just discovered some
of the remains.
I will confess, I passed an uncomfortable night. An unknown enemy is
always a formidable enemy; and I would rather have fought three
_guarda-costas_ at once, than lie where we did, in a bay as
smooth as a looking-glass, surrounded by forests as silent as a
desert, and in a well-armed ship, that was prepared at all points, to
meet her foes, even to her boarding-nettings.
Nothing came of it all. The Dipper and Smudge eat their supper with
the appetites of injured innocence, and slept like tops. If guilty, we
all agreed that they must be utterly destitute of consciences. As for
ourselves, we were on the alert until near morning, the very moment
when the danger would probably be the greatest, provided there were
any at all; and then weariness overcame all who were not on the
look-out, and some who were. Still, nothing happened. The sun returned
to us in due season, gilding the tree-tops with its beams; our little
bay began to bask in its glory, and with the cheerfulness that usually
accompanies such a scene, vanished most of our apprehensions for the
moment.
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