Stimson was with me, and, turning our
backs upon the vessels, we walked slowly along, talking of the
pleasure of being our own masters, of the times past, when we were
free and in the midst of friends, in America, and of the prospect
of our return; and planning where we would go, and what we would
do, when we reached home. It was wonderful how the prospect
brightened, and how short and tolerable the voyage appeared, when
viewed in this new light. Things looked differently from what they
did when we talked them over in the little dark forecastle, the
night after the flogging, at San Pedro. It is not the least of the
advantages of allowing sailors occasionally a day of liberty, that
it gives them a spring, and makes them feel cheerful and
independent, and leads them insensibly to look on the bright side
of everything for some time after.
Stimson and I determined to keep as much together as possible,
though we knew that it would not do to cut our shipmates; for,
knowing our birth and education, they were a little suspicious
that we would try to put on the gentleman when we got ashore, and
would be ashamed of their company; and this won't do with Jack.
When the voyage is at an end, you do as you please; but so long as
you belong to the same vessel, you must be a shipmate to him on
shore, or he will not be a shipmate to you on board.
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