At daybreak we found that the brig was still in the situation already described, and Manuel, accompanied by me and several of the crew, went towards her in the boat. The Captain seemed at a loss how to receive us, being doubtful whether our intentions were hostile or friendly; but when we had satisfied him on this point, he informed us that his vessel, having become quite unmanageable in consequence of the loss of her rudder, had drifted away towards a sand-bank, and run hard aground the preceding night. We soon ascertained that her bottom was a good deal damaged, and that she could not be got off. "This brig will go to pieces the first time there is a heavy sea," said Manuel to the Captain; "and those who remain in her must perish. I will take you all on board my schooner, and put you ashore about forty miles above Matanzas, seeking no compensation but part of the cargo, which you of course have no means of preserving." After some deliberation this proposal was acceded to by all parties, and Manuel's crew again began to unload the brig.
While they were thus engaged I went down to the cabin, and found Mr R---- and his daughter there. The former had a look of ghastliness which gave me an unfavourable idea of the nature of his wound; and the latter sat beside his bed, and seemed at once hopeless and resigned. On seeing me they both started, but said nothing. I told them that, although I came along with the pirates, I had no connection with such persons, and that my object in intruding upon them was to offer my professional services to Mr R----. The young lady sprung from her chair, and expressed her gratitude in the warmest manner, while her father's flushed countenance and beaming eyes evinced that hopes of life began to revive in his heart.
When Manuel had carried away as much of the cargo as his vessel could conveniently contain, he informed us that the boat was ready to take us all on board the schooner; we accordingly embarked, placing Mr R---- upon a mattress, and rowed away from the brig, towards which the Captain and his crew directed many anxious and regretful looks.
On getting on board the schooner, our first object was to contrive accommodations for so many new passengers. I resigned my berth to Mr R----, and Manuel allowed the young lady and her attendant to occupy his state-room. The Captain and his crew reposed upon deck, but the latter were so indignant at the familiarity with which the negroes treated them, that they would have resented it by force, had not the fear of being overcome by superior numbers restrained their fury. However, the two parties poured forth torrents of abuse against each other; and the clamour of their tongues, the groans of Mr R----, the agonies of his daughter, and the confinement of a crowded vessel, all combined to render the day and succeeding night insupportably tedious and distressing to me.