KAPITEL XXVIII.
This chapter chronicles a series of dramatic events aboard the ship, beginning with the captain’s murderous rage against a madman, continuing through a perilous voyage to the West Indies, and culminating in a medical conflict that results in a successful surgical intervention.
Captain’s Rage and Threat
The captain, still enraged from earlier ill-treatment, has the offending madman brought before him and threatens to shoot the man with his own pistol. His fury is intense, and he appears determined to satisfy his revenge immediately.
Diverted from Revenge
The first lieutenant intervenes with persuasive arguments, suggesting the madman may not be truly insane but rather a desperate individual hired by one of the captain’s enemies. The lieutenant proposes keeping the man in irons until a court-martial can investigate and uncover any deeper conspiracy. Dr. Mackshane supports this opinion, having previously declared the man was not mad. The captain, whose intellect is susceptible to such reasoning, accepts this course of action. Meanwhile, Morgan cannot conceal his pleasure at the outcome and ventures to ask Mackshane whether there are more fools or madmen aboard, a remark the doctor carefully notes for future consideration. Before the ship can depart, the prisoner seizes an opportunity to leap overboard and frustrate the captain’s intended revenge.
Departure for West Indies
The vessel weighs anchor and, after a brief stay at the Downs, proceeds to Spithead where it takes on six months’ provisions. The ship then sails from St. Helen’s with the grand fleet, bound for the West Indies on the memorable expedition to Cartagena. The narrator observes with great mortification that he faces transport to such a distant and unhealthy climate under the command of an arbitrary tyrant, lacking every comfort, but resolves to submit patiently and make the best of circumstances.
The Terrible Tempest
After leaving the Channel with favorable winds, the fleet becomes becalmed about fifty leagues west of the Lizard. The calm proves brief as a hurricane soon strikes, splitting the maintop-sail and creating a terrifying commotion aboard. The narrator awakens to a cacophony of gun carriages, cracking cabins, howling wind, confused shouting, boatswain’s pipes, trumpets, and chain pumps. Morgan, experiencing his first storm at sea, cries out in terror while Thompson lies trembling in his hammock, praying for their safety. Above deck, the scene proves even more horrifying: waves rise mountain-high, and the ship alternately hangs suspended over the abyss and sinks between threatening walls of water. Of one hundred fifty ships in the fleet, scarce twelve remain visible, all reduced to bare poles and at the mercy of the tempest. One vessel loses its mast, which tumbles overboard with a hideous crash. The crew runs distracted, some clinging to yards to unbend shredded sails while masts quiver like twigs threatening to splinter.
Jack Rattlin’s Accident
As the narrator observes this terrifying scene, a main brace breaks, flinging two sailors from the yard arm into the sea where they perish. Poor Jack Rattlin is thrown down upon the deck, suffering a broken leg with a splinter of the shin-bone thrusting through the skin. Morgan and the narrator rush to his assistance, and recognizing the seriousness of the injury, the narrator goes below to inform the surgeon and retrieve dressings. He discovers Dr. Mackshane kneeling before something resembling a crucifix, which the narrator declines to confirm, merely noting that common report suggested Mackshane was a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The disturbed doctor quickly conceals the object and prepares to receive word about Rattlin.
The Surgeon’s Refusal
When informed of Rattlin’s condition, Mackshane refuses to visit the patient on deck, instead ordering the boatswain to have men carry the injured sailor to the cockpit while he directs Thompson to prepare dressings. The boatswain refuses to spare a man from deck, anticipating the mast may soon go overboard. Despite these difficulties, the narrator and Morgan manage to get Rattlin to the lower deck, where Mackshane eventually ventures to examine him. Accompanied by Thompson carrying dressings and his own servant with surgical instruments, the doctor examines the fracture. Observing a livid color extending up the limb, he concludes mortification will ensue and resolves to amputate the leg immediately.
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