Kidnapped

David wakes in the dark, restrained and seasick. He reflects on his folly and his uncle’s cruelty and reels in and out of consciousness for hours before settling into rough sleep.

When David next awakens, it is to the sight of Mr. Riach, second mate of the Covenant. Riach tends to David’s head wound and offers him food; however, David can’t eat in his current state and falls back into a fevered dream. Riach returns with Captain Hoseason, and the two men argue about whether to keep David in the ship’s hold. Only when Riach states that it will be murder to leave David there does Hoseason relent.

Over the following days, David’s health gradually improves, and he comes to know the Covenant’s sailors and even to appreciate their rough virtues. They return some of his money and tell him that his uncle sold him to slavery in the Carolinas. The cabin boy, Ransome, visits David often, usually with some new bruise or wound from a sailor named Shaun, who gets violent when drunk. Mr. Riach also spends time with David, and eventually David shares his story with the mate. Riach swears he will get news of David’s fate to