Prejudice or not, confidence is not a bad thing when a conflict is unavoidable.  It may be well to respect your enemy down to the very moment of making the charge; but, that commenced, the more he is despised, the better.  When Diogenes and Neb were told it would be necessary to go over again the work so lately thought to be completed, neither of the negroes manifested the least concern.  Diogenes had been in the Crisis, as well as Neb, and he had got to entertain a very Anglican sort of notion of French prowess on the water; and, as for my own black, he would have followed without the slightest remonstrance, wherever “Masser Mile please to lead.”

“They’s only French,” said Diogenes, in a philosophical sort of way; “we can handle ’em like children.”

I would not discourage this notion, though I saw its folly.  Telling our two supporters to hold themselves ready for an attack, Marble and I left them, to cogitate and commence the manner of proceeding.  Whatever was done, must be done that night; there being reason to think the ship would get in somewhere, next day.

The name of our prize-master was Le Gros.  He was not aptly designated, however, being a little, shrivelled, yellow-faced fellow, who did not seem to be a Hercules at all.  Nevertheless, unlike Sennit, he was all vigilance and activity.  He never left the deck, and, being so near in with the coast, I felt pretty certain we should have his company above board all night.  Whatever was attempted, therefore, must be attempted in defiance of his watchfulness.  Nor was this all; additional prudence was necessary, since we were so near the coast as greatly to increase the chance of our being picked up by some other French cruiser, should we even escape from this.  Extreme caution was our cue, therefore, and Marble and I separated, seemingly each to take his repose with a perfect understanding on all these points.

Mons. Le Gros paid no attention to the state-rooms, or to the accommodations below.  His whole care was bestowed on the ship.  Apprehension of falling in with some British cruiser, kept his eyes wide open, and his gaze constantly sweeping the horizon, so far as the obscurity would allow.  I was incessantly on the alert myself, stealing up from the cabin, as far as the companion-way, at least a dozen times in the course of the night, in the hope of finding him asleep; but, on each occasion, I saw him moving up and down the quarter-deck, in rapid motion, armed to the teeth, and seemingly insensible to fatigue, and all the other weaknesses of nature.  It was useless to attempt to find him off his guard, and worn out, Marble and myself fell into deep sleep, about three in the morning, out of pure exhaustion.  As for the two negroes they slept the entire night, waiting our summons for their rallying to the work.  Neb, in particular, had all the absence of responsibility that distinguishes the existence of a slave, feeling very much the same unconcern as to the movements of the vessel, as any other human being feels in connection with those of the earth in which he is a passenger.