CHAPTER XVII.
"_Paladore_--I have heard, Have read bold fables of enormity, Devised to make men wonder, and confirm The abhorrence of our nature; but this hardness Transcends all fiction." "_Law of Lombardy_." We must now relate what had occurred on deck during the struggle of Newton to escape from his prison.

At one o'clock Jackson had calculated that in an hour, or less, the brig would strike on the reef.

He took the helm from the man who was steering, and told him that he might go below.
Previous to this, he had been silently occupied in coiling the hawser before the door of Newton's cabin, it being his intention to desert the brig, with the seamen, in the long-boat, and leave Newton to perish.
When the brig dashed upon the reef, which she did with great violence, and the crew hurried upon deck, Jackson, who was calm, immediately proceeded to give the orders which he had already arranged in his mind; and the coolness with which they were given quieted the alarm of the seamen, and allowed them time to recall their scattered senses.

This, however, proved unfortunate for Jackson.

Had they all hurried in the boat at once, and shoved off, he would in all probability have been permitted to go with them, and Newton, in the hurry of their self-preservation, would have been forgotten; but his cool behaviour restored their confidence, and, unhappily for him, gave the seamen time to reflect.