Kidnapped · Chapter
VII: I Go to Sea in the Brig Covenant of Dysart explained
David Balfour awakens bound and injured in the dark hold of the Covenant, having been kidnapped by his uncle's arrangement.
What happens
David Balfour awakens bound and injured in the dark hold of the Covenant, having been kidnapped by his uncle's arrangement. He endures physical pain, seasickness, and despair before being visited by the second mate, Mr. Riach, who tends his wound. After a tense confrontation with Captain Hoseason, Riach secures David's transfer to the forecastle, where he slowly recovers among the crew. David learns of his intended fate—sale into servitude in the Carolinas—and befriends the abused cabin boy Ransome, while observing the rough but not entirely heartless character of the sailors.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Resilience
David endures physical pain, seasickness, and despair in the ship's hold, yet gradually recovers and adapts to his new environment among the crew.
Greed and Corruption
Uncle Ebenezer's greed leads him to sell David into servitude, and the captain's willingness to transport a kidnapped boy for payment exemplifies moral corruption.
Friendship and Comradeship
Despite the crew's rough nature, David finds unexpected kindness from Mr. Riach and some sailors, and he attempts to befriend and comfort the abused cabin boy Ransome.
Characters to notice
- David Balfour
Kidnapped and imprisoned aboard the Covenant, David suffers injury, sickness, and despair before being moved to the forecastle and beginning to recover.
- Captain Hoseason
The hard, iron-willed captain of the Covenant; he reluctantly allows David to be moved to the forecastle after Mr. Riach insists the boy will die in the hold.
- Mr. Riach
The second mate, who tends David's wound, argues with the captain for better treatment, and secures David's transfer to the forecastle; he is kind when drunk but harsh when sober.
- Ransome
The cabin boy, abused by Mr. Shuan, who shares his horrific stories of life at sea and his fear of the dry land; David tries to comfort him.
- Mr. Shuan
The chief mate, described as cruel when drinking but harmless when sober; he is responsible for abusing Ransome.
- Ebenezer Balfour
David's wicked uncle, who arranged the kidnapping and condemned David to be sold into slavery in the Carolinas.
Key passages
“I came to myself in darkness, in great pain, bound hand and foot, and deafened by many unfamiliar noises.”
David regains consciousness in the dark, suffering and tied up, overwhelmed by strange sounds.
David's awakening to his captivity aboard the Covenant.
“I had no measure of time; day and night were alike in that ill-smelling cavern of the ship's bowels where I lay; and the misery of my situation drew out the hours to double.”
David loses all sense of time in the foul hold, where his suffering makes each hour feel twice as long.
David's disorientation and misery in the ship's hold.
“I want that boy taken out of this hole and put in the forecastle.”
Mr. Riach demands that David be moved from the hold to the crew's quarters.
Mr. Riach's intervention to improve David's conditions.
“The ship was bound for the Carolinas; and you must not suppose that I was going to that place merely as an exile. The trade was even then much depressed; ... white men were still sold into slavery on the plantations, and that was the destiny to which my wicked uncle had condemned me.”
The Covenant was heading to the Carolinas, where David was to be sold as a plantation slave, a fate arranged by his uncle.
David learns the true purpose of his kidnapping.
