The end is sure against us. Our
original agitation was just; our present obduracy is madness. This ship
is suspected. It is believed by the rest of the fleet--by ships like the
Invincible--that we're weak-kneed, selfish, and lacking in fidelity to
the cause. That's not true; but we have either to fight or to run, and
perhaps to do both.
"Make no mistake. The government are not cowards; the Admiralty are
gentlemen of determination. If men like Admiral Howe support the
Admiralty--Howe, one of the best friends the seaman ever had--what do you
think the end will be? Have you heard what happened at Spithead? The
seamen chivvied Admiral Alan Gardner and his colleagues aboard a ship.
He caught hold of a seaman Delegate by the collar and shook him. They
closed in on him. They handled him roughly. He sprang on the hammock-
nettings, put the noose of the hanging-rope round his neck, and said to
the men who advanced menacingly:
"'If you will return to your duty, you may hang me at the yard-arm!'
"That's the kind of stuff our admirals are made of. We have no quarrel
with the majority of our officers. They're straight, they're honest, and
they're true to their game. Our quarrel is with Parliament and the
Admiralty; our struggle is with the people of the kingdom, who have not
seen to it that our wrongs are put right, that we have food to eat, water
to drink, and money to spend."
He waved a hand, as though to sweep away the criticisms he felt must be
rising against him.
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