Nearly two to one
Only one , then , had been accounted for that afternoon . And there were but nine able-bodied men in the fort , counting Binney as able-bodied . Sixteen to nine ! Nearly two to one ! And men who would fight desperately because in joining this mutiny they knew that they stood in peril of the hangman 's noose or the electric chair . Drew 's resolution hardened . The fire cast a wide zone of light on the beach and the surrounding water .