noon
I disapprove , on principle , of slave - trading , which I consider an iniquitous traffic , and I will have nothing to do with it ; but , if you are willing , I will navigate the ship back to Port Royal , -- guaranteeing you immunity from capture upon our arrival , in consideration of the rescue and succour that you have afforded me , -- and , when there , you will have no difficulty in procuring someone who will navigate the schooner from thence to Havana or any other port that you may choose to go to . Just talk it over among yourselves , and let me know what you decide on doing . '' I could see that my proposal was not at all to Charpentier 's liking , or , indeed , to the liking of any of the crew ; but I cared not for that . I was quite determined to have nothing whatever to do with the kidnapping of any unfortunate blacks ; and in the end they were obliged to give way , although Charpentier tried hard to dissuade me from my resolution ; the result being , that immediately after I had ascertained our position at noon , we wore round and shaped a course for Martinique , that island being in a direct line with Jamaica . At first I was rather apprehensive that the disappointment of the men at so unprofitable a result of the voyage would cause them to be troublesome ; but it did not . The question of turning back having once been settled , they all seemed to take the matter very philosophically , the fact that they were now relieved of the mate 's tyranny perhaps reconciling them to such disappointment as they might otherwise have felt . I need not dwell upon the return voyage , which was singularly uneventful ; suffice it to say that , favoured with fine weather and a fair wind all the way , we made an exceptionally smart run across the Atlantic , entering Port Royal harbour on the morning of the twenty - second day after bearing up , and eleven weeks to a day from the date of my abduction by Dominguez .