`` Ay , boy , '' he said , `` I am with you . Gossip , I will be back anon . Drink fair , gossip ; '' and , taking Dick 's arm to steady his uneven steps , he walked to the door of the alehouse . As soon as he was over the threshold , ten strong arms had seized and bound him ; and in two minutes more , with his limbs trussed one to another , and a good gag in his mouth , he had been tumbled neck and crop into a neighbouring hay-barn . Presently , his man Tom , similarly secured , was tossed beside him , and the pair were left to their uncouth reflections for the night . And now , as the time for concealment had gone by , Lord Foxham 's followers were summoned by a preconcerted signal , and the party , boldly taking possession of as many boats as their numbers required , pulled in a flotilla for the light in the rigging of the ship . Long before the last man had climbed to the deck of the Good Hope , the sound of furious shouting from the shore showed that a part , at least , of the seamen had discovered the loss of their skiffs . But it was now too late , whether for recovery or revenge . Out of some forty fighting men now mustered in the stolen ship , eight had been to sea , and could play the part of mariners . With the aid of these , a slice of sail was got upon her . The cable was cut . Lawless , vacillating on his feet , and still shouting the chorus of sea-ballads , took the long tiller in his hands : and the Good Hope began to flit forward into the darkness of the night , and to face the great waves beyond the harbour bar . Richard took his place beside the weather rigging . Except for the ship 's own lantern , and for some lights in Shoreby town , that were already fading to leeward , the whole world of air was as black as in a pit . Only from time to time , as the Good Hope swooped dizzily down into the valley of the rollers , a crest would break -- a great cataract of snowy foam would leap in one instant into being -- and , in an instant more , would stream into the wake and vanish . Many of the men lay holding on and praying aloud ; many more were sick , and had crept into the bottom , where they sprawled among the cargo . And what with the extreme violence of the motion , and the continued drunken bravado of Lawless , still shouting and singing at the helm , the stoutest heart on board may have nourished a shrewd misgiving as to the result . But Lawless , as if guided by an instinct , steered the ship across the breakers , struck the lee of a great sandbank , where they sailed for awhile in smooth water , and presently after laid her alongside a rude , stone pier , where she was hastily made fast , and lay ducking and grinding in the dark . CHAPTER V -- THE GOOD HOPE -LRB- continued -RRB- The pier was not far distant from the house in which Joanna lay ; it now only remained to get the men on shore , to surround the house with a strong party , burst in the door and carry off the captive . They might then regard themselves as done with the Good Hope ; it had placed them on the rear of their enemies ; and the retreat , whether they should succeed or fail in the main enterprise , would be directed with a greater measure of hope in the direction of the forest and my Lord Foxham 's reserve .
To get the men on shore , however , was no easy task ; many had been sick , all were pierced with cold ; the promiscuity and disorder on board had shaken their discipline ; the movement of the ship and the darkness of the XXXXX had cowed their spirits .
Ay Dick Foxham Tom alehouse cataract left minutes night violence