The Captain’s Death
Crampley, acting as an insidious slanderer, has already caused a misunderstanding between the ship’s captain and the surgeon. The captain, advanced in age and infirmities, becomes intolerably peevish and develops a particular aversion to young men and surgeons. He refuses to consult the doctor despite suffering from violent gout and gravel attacks, instead relying on Holland gin as his sovereign remedy. Whether from too sparing or an overdose of his “cordial,” the captain dies in the night without ceremony and is found stiff the next morning—much to Crampley’s satisfaction.
Crampley Assumes Command
With the captain dead, Crampley succeeds to the command of the vessel. Both the narrator and Mr. Tomlins have no cause to rejoice at this event, fearing their new commander’s tyranny will be as unlimited as his power. Their apprehensions prove justified on the very first day of his command.
The Surgeon’s Demise
On the first day of his command, Crampley orders the surgeon’s hencoops and all his fowls thrown overboard on the pretense that the decks are too crowded. He also prohibits the surgeon and the narrator from walking on the quarter-deck. When Mr. Tomlins complains of these injuries and speaks hastily during his expostulation, Crampley seizes the opportunity to confine him to his cabin. Within days, for lack of air, Tomlins develops a fever that soon ends his life. Before dying, he makes his will, bequeathing all his estate to his sister and leaving his watch and instruments to the narrator as memorials of friendship. Crampley shows no remorse for his barbarity and even insults the surgeon’s memory, accusing him of poisoning himself from fear of a court-martial.
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