About midday
Most insistently my thoughts were of Carette and those bright early days on Sercq , and black as all else was , those remembrances shone like jewels in my mind . And when at times I thought of Torode and his stupendous treachery , my heart was like to burst with helpless rage . I scarcely closed my eyes , and in the morning felt old and weary . About midday they came for me , and I was content that the end had come . They led me to the waist of the ship , where the whole company was assembled , and there they stripped me to the waist and bound my wrists to a gun carriage . It was little relief to me to know that I was to be flogged , for the lash degrades , and breaks a man 's spirit even more than his body . Even if undeserved , the brand remains , and can never be forgotten .