Would they leave me to climb the
cliff and go home, or would they take me round to Stromness?
I was not left long in doubt. Two of the sailors, still with drawn
cutlasses, took me into the bow of the longboat and placed me there
beside Tom Kinlay and the other prisoners, and bound me to them
with my own rope. Then the lieutenant took his seat in the stern
sheets, his men plied their oars, and we were taken out to the
cutter, which lay anchored a few fathoms out from the rocks.
We were all taken aboard of her. Her white canvas was hoisted and
her anchor weighed, and soon we were speeding blithely along in the
direction of Stromness, with the St. Magnus towed astern.
Chapter XXXVII. In Which I Am Put Under Arrest.
When we were well under weigh, and I had done admiring the cutter's
trim fittings and the smartness of her men, I turned to consider
the condition of my unfortunate companions. Two of them were badly
wounded, and they were ordered to be taken below to have their
wounds dressed, whilst the others were now being placed in irons.
They were bound hand and foot to a gun carriage.
Tom Kinlay, who was beside me under the starboard bulwarks, watched
the men with consternation in his face. He was evidently very much
afraid. I saw him put his hand to his breast as though he felt
there for something.
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