He therefore flew at his man without hesitation on the slightest provocation, and whenever he threatened took care to keep his word.
The constant strain upon his energy became at last like a fever in his blood, and the life he was leading began to show itself in his face.

He had come to be reckoned on board as one of those stubborn, unruly spirits that are common enough among the dregs of humanity to be met with in ships' holds in that quarter of the globe, and who usually end their career at the yard-arm, or by a bullet from the captain's revolver.

In this very ship, before they came into Rio, at the time the Irishman had been put in irons, the captain had, without any hesitation, shot down from the yard one of the crew, whom he supposed to be the ringleader of the mutineers.

He looked upon Salve now with increasing distrust, wondering how he could ever have been so mistaken in a man as he had been in him.

"But put a man to herd with rabble, and it's hard for him not to become one of them," he said; and, deteriorated though he was, Salve was still the smartest sailor he had on board.
The boatswain kept out of his way now as much as possible, for he had heard that Salve had sworn to tear his entrails out if he gave him any fresh cause for offence.