I looked out for you—for the new you, in the body of the strangers’ sage. But I now remembered, without any effort on my part, that the strangers were not strangers but French, and that the medicine man was a surgeon, and his name was Roblet. And so the memories of my new body came to me in this way, naturally and of their own accord, like bubbles to the water’s surface.

At eleven, Icard called all hands on deck and the captain addressed the crew. Finally I saw you, standing among the masters on the quarterdeck. Your eyes darted here and there, as if, unsure of your surrounds, you wished to draw as little attention to yourself as possible, while observing proceedings closely for clues as to how to behave. Captain Marchand issued orders that three men were to be flogged as a result of the events of the previous day: twelve lashes for the helmsman Bonicard for drunkenness; twelve for Roussetty—the man who had shot you—for the reckless discharge of his firearm; while I was to receive twenty-four lashes for my disobedience and desertion of my station. As he spoke, Icard and two sailors rigged a grating for the flogging. I was to be last.

First Bonicard had the flesh on his back flayed by the cat-o’-nine-tails. Then it was Roussetty’s turn. The crew watched on silently with a combination of horror, sympathy, amusement, and boredom—the sight was clearly no novelty to them. Then I was called forth. I removed my shirt and the bosun’s mate, Infernet, strapped my wrists to the grating and walked back several paces with the whip in his hand. The first lash landed upon my back, and could hardly have inflicted more pain than had I been slashed with a knife. It was followed by another, and another, each more terrible than the last. Icard counted aloud as each blow flailed my skin. I fainted for the first time at the eleventh stroke, and several times thereafter. Each time I fainted I was revived with a bucket of sea water that served only to excite my afflictions. Afterward I had to be carried down the hatch, while a man followed me with a mop and bucket to wipe away all trace of blood.