the commodore, and having tripped up his heels, retreated with
great expedition.

It was then that Peregrine, pretending to recollect himself a
little, ran, with all the marks of disturbance and affright, and
called up the servants to the assistance of their master, whom
they found in a cold sweat upon the floor, his features betokening
horror and confusion. Hatchway raised him up, and having comforted
him with a cup of Nantz, began to inquire into the cause of his
disorder: but he could not extract one word of answer from his
friend, who, after a considerable pause, during which he seemed
to be wrapt in profound contemplation, pronounced aloud, "By the
Lord! Jack, you may say what you wool; but I'll be d-- if it was
not Davy Jones himself. I know him by his saucer eyes, his three
rows of teeth, his horns and tail, and the blue smoke that came out
of his nostrils. What does the blackguard hell's baby want with
me? I'm sure I never committed murder, except in the way of my
profession, nor wronged any man whatsomever since I first went to
sea." This same Davy Jones, according to the mythology of sailors,
is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep,
and is often seen in various shapes, perching among the rigging on
the eve of hurricanes, shipwrecks, and other disasters, to which
a seafaring life is exposed; warning the devoted wretch of death
and woe. No wonder then that Trunnion was disturbed by a supposed
visit of this demon, which, in his opinion, foreboded some dreadful
calamity.