"All right," said Mr. Treenail; "help him out of his berth."
He was pinioned like the rest, and forthwith we walked them all off to
the beach. By this time there was an unusual bustle in the Holy
Ground, and we could hear many an anathema--curses not loud but
deep--ejaculated from many a half-opened door as we passed along. We
reached the boat, and time it was we did, for a number of stout
fellows, who had followed us in a gradually increasing crowd until they
amounted to forty at the fewest, now nearly surrounded us, and kept
closing in. As the last of us jumped into the boat, they made a rush,
so that if we had not shoved off with the speed of light, I think it
very likely that we should have been overpowered. However, we reached
the ship in safety, and the day following we weighed, and stood out to
sea with our convoy.
It was a very large fleet, nearly three hundred sail of merchant
vessels--and a noble sight truly.
A line-of-battle ship led, and two frigates and three sloops of our
class were stationed on the outskirts of the fleet, whipping them in,
as it were. We made Madeira in fourteen days, looked in, but did not
anchor; superb island--magnificent mountains--white town,--and all very
fine, but nothing particular happened for three weeks.
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