To them the voyage was one in which the lust of gold was the sole stimulant; and, accustomed to deeds of bloodshed, what feelings they ever had had become utterly blunted, and they needed but the power to become despotic and brutal masters.
The chief among these was Giles Taunton, the armorer He was a swarthy ruffian, who hid, beneath the guise of a jovial bonhomie, a cruel and unfeeling nature.

He was ever ready to cuff and beat the boys, on the smallest provocation.
They soon gathered together, in a sort of defensive league, against their common oppressors.

All four were high-spirited lads.

The other three, indeed, were sons of men of substance in Devon, whose fathers had lent funds to Captain Drake for the carrying out of his great enterprise.

They therefore looked but ill on the kicks and curses which, occasionally, fell to their lot.
One day they gathered together round the bowsprit, and talked over what they should do.