THE BURNING OF THE WRECK "When Lesher and Baxter got back to where they left us they were very bitter against you," began Gibson.

"They told us that you had tried to make them work like niggers, fixing up this house.

They said that they wanted to come right back and bring us here, but you wouldn't let them go until the house was finished." "Which is not true, as all of us here know," said Captain Blossom.
"Lesher also said that you were angry at us for leaving the ship before the rest, and that you had said you would have us all tried for mutiny the first chance you got.

Baxter said the same, and also told us that you were going to dump all the rum and other liquor into the ocean, so that the mate and none of the others could get a drop of it while they stayed on the islands." "I didn't say that, but I did say that Lesher Shouldn't have all he wanted," replied the captain.
"This sort of talk made most of the sailors wild," went on Gibson.
"Then Lesher made a speech to them, and they voted to stick by him through thick and thin and not let you rule them.

He promised them all the liquor they wanted, and told them that if they stuck by him the whole lot could swear in court that they had found the wreck deserted, so that they could get whatever was coming in the way of salvage.