noon
Left thus to myself , I fell to mechanically pacing the short deck of the felucca for a few minutes , smoking thoughtfully the while and turning over in my mind the disquieting conversation that had just passed between Dominguez and myself ; then , my gaze happening to wander aft to the solitary figure at the tiller , I sauntered aft and endeavoured to strike up a conversation with him . The fellow , however , proved to be so boorish and saturnine in his manner that I quickly abandoned the attempt and , pitching my half-smoked cigar over the rail , retired below and tumbled , `` all standing , '' into the bunk that Dominguez had indicated as mine , where , despite the food for serious reflection that the occurrences of the night afforded me , I soon fell into a sound sleep . The week that succeeded my abduction was so utterly barren of events that it may be passed over with the mere remark that throughout the whole of the time we had perfect weather , with a steady , moderate trade wind , under the impulsion of which the felucca bruised along upon her proper course , reeling off her five to six knots per hour with the regularity of a clock ; and during the whole of that time , strange to say , we sighted not a single sail . I had been by no means idle during this time , however , as may well be supposed ; for every day at noon saw the little hooker a hundred and thirty to a hundred and fifty miles nearer the spot where , if nothing happened in the interim to prevent it , I was to be delivered into the hands of a fiend in human form , whose hatred of me was so intense and vindictive that he had taken a considerable amount of trouble , and put himself to considerable expense , merely to get me into his power and wreak a blood-curdling revenge upon me . But to tamely submit to be thus handed over to Morillo 's tender mercies was the very last thing that I contemplated . I had every reason to believe that the picture drawn by Dominguez of the form which Morillo 's revenge would probably take was a tolerably truthful one ; and while I was prepared to face death in any form at a moment 's notice in the way of duty , I had not the remotest intention of permitting myself to be tortured to death merely to gratify the ferocity of a piratical outlaw , if I could possibly help it . So for the first three or four days I devoted myself wholly to the task of endeavouring to bribe my custodians to forego their intention of handing me over to Morillo , and to land me upon the nearest British territory instead .