For there was some comedy mixed with what had been so nearly a
tragedy, and Jack made us see the very whites of the black cook's
eyes, who, favored by his color, had hidden himself--all except
that dilated whiteness--between two great casks in the bold.
Jack himself had fallen through a trap-door, was badly hurt, and
could not extricate himself.
It was very ludicrous. Jack crept under the table to show us how
he and the cook made eyes at each other down there in the
darkness, not daring to speak. The pantomime was necessary, for
the Genoese had very little English at his command.
When the pirate crew were brought into Salem for trial, my
brother had the questionable satisfaction of identifying in the
court-room the ruffian of a boatswain who had threatened his
life. This boatswain and several others of the crew were executed
in Boston. The boy found his brief sailor-experience quite enough
for him, and afterward settled down quietly to the trade of a
carpenter.
Changes thickened in the air around us.
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