Читать книгу Men Against the Sea – Book Set. The Greatest Maritime Adventure Novels: The Bounty Trilogy, Lost Island, The Hurricane, Botany Bay, The Far Lands, Tales of the South Seas… онлайн

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“At twelve o’clock everything was quiet on board. I was relieved by Mr. Peckover, the gunner. Everything remained quiet until he was relieved, at four o’clock, by Mr. Christian. At the dawn of day I was much alarmed, whether from the noise Mr. Bligh said he made or by the people coming into my cabin, I cannot tell. But when I attempted to jump up, John Sumner and Matthew Quintal laid their hands upon my breast and desired me to lie down, saying, ‘You are a prisoner, sir. Hold your tongue or you are a dead man, but if you remain quiet, there is no person on board that will hurt a hair of your head.’

“I then, by raising myself on the locker, which place I always slept on for coolness, saw Mr. Bligh in his shirt, with his hands tied behind him, going up the ladder, and Mr. Christian holding him by the cord. The master-at-arms, Charles Churchill, then came to my cabin and took a brace of pistols and a hangar, saying, ‘I will take care of these, Mr. Fryer.’ I asked what they were going to do with their captain. ‘Damn his eyes!’ Sumner said. ‘Put him into the boat and let the dog see if he can live on half a pound of yams a day.’ ‘Into the boat!’ I said. ‘For God’s sake, what for?’ ‘Sir,’ Quintal said, ‘hold your tongue. Christian is captain of the ship, and recollect that Mr. Bligh has brought all this upon himself.’