continued Captain Passford, looking over his audience again, to
discover, if he could, any evidence of faltering on the part of a
single one.

Still officers and men were as immovable as a group of statuary; and not
a face betrayed an expression indicating a desire to leave the vessel,
or to falter in what all regarded as the allegiance they owed to the
owner and his family.

"We will all go with you to the end of the world, or the end of the
war!" shouted the old sheet-anchor man, who was the spokesman of the
crew when they had any thing to say. "If any man offers to leave"--

"He shall go with my best wishes," interposed Captain Passford. "None of
that, Boxie; you have heard what I said, and I mean every word of it.
There shall be no persuasion or intimidation."

"Beg pardon, Captain Passford; but there isn't a man here that would go
to the mainmast if he knew that the forecastle would drop out from under
him, and let him down into Davy Jones's locker the next minute if he
staid here," responded Boxie, with a complaisant grin on his face, as
if he was entirely conscious that he knew what he was talking about.

"Every man must act on his own free will," added the owner.

"That's just what we are all doing, your honor; and every one of us
would rather go than have his wages doubled. If any dumper here has a
free will to go to the mainmast, he'd better put his head in soak,
and"--