Chapter 3 Summary

Taking in great breaths of air after leaving his cramped quarters for the open air, Jack surveys a sea and sky of an ambiguous, gray nature. He turns to Dillon and makes mention of the necessity of assigning the men their watches and their permanent quarters. Were there any men from the Charlotte? One, Dillon replies, recalling the terrible fire on the Charlotte, with its eight hundred men and a blaze so strong you could hear it a mile away. Accompanying the blaze were the reports of Charlotte's gun, firing mechanically and randomly from the heat. Only a hundred men were saved, because many of the boats from nearby ships hung back, realizing that the Charlotte's magazine might blow up at any time- and, although these were battle-hardened men, they were not hardened necessarily against the random firing of guns.

Seeing what looks...