He described the drinking bout which followed, in which he and Graines had pretended to join, stating the information he had obtained from them.

He rehearsed a portion of Captain Sullendine's speech, adding that most of his auditors were the seamen from the Bellevite, though he had sent four of them back to the ship before he reached the shore.
He detailed his interview with the master of the West Wind, explaining how he had shipped the new crew with him.

The scenes in the cabin were described in full; in fact, every incident of any importance which had transpired during the night was related.

The commander was deeply interested, and listened without comment to the narrative up to the moment when the narrator had come on board of the Bellevite.

He was not sparing in his praise of the engineer, and separated what he had said and done as far as he could from his own words and actions.
The commander then questioned him in regard to the armament of the Tallahatchie, and he repeated the meagre information he had obtained from Bokes.