Tarzan of the Apes · Chapter
Out to Sea explained
John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, and his wife Lady Alice sail from Freetown aboard the Fuwalda, a brutal ship with a vicious captain and crew.
What happens
John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, and his wife Lady Alice sail from Freetown aboard the Fuwalda, a brutal ship with a vicious captain and crew. After Clayton intervenes to stop the captain from killing a sailor, tensions escalate. The captain's hostility grows, and the Claytons discover their revolvers have been stolen. A warning note is slipped under their door, and a sailor warns Clayton that mutiny and murder are imminent. The Claytons decide to remain neutral and await events.
Themes in this chapter
Civilization vs. Wilderness
The civilized order of the Claytons contrasts with the lawless brutality of the Fuwalda's crew and captain.
Survival and Strength
The Claytons must navigate the threat of mutiny and violence, relying on caution and neutrality to survive.
Characters to notice
- John Clayton
Lord Greystoke, passenger on the Fuwalda, intervenes to protect a sailor from the captain's brutality.
- Lady Alice
John Clayton's wife, advises caution and neutrality as tensions rise on the ship.
- Captain Billings
Brutal captain of the Fuwalda, antagonized by Clayton and prone to violent discipline.
- Black Michael
Large sailor wounded by the captain's bullet, later recovered and rumored to be planning mutiny.
- Snipes
Old sailor who warns Clayton of the impending mutiny and murder plot.
Key passages
“Captain Billings... if you will pardon my candor, I might remark that you are something of an ass.”
Clayton calmly insults the captain's intelligence after being threatened.
Clayton's cool defiance sets the stage for conflict with the captain.
“They found their quarters in a bad state of disorder... nothing had been taken but Clayton's two revolvers and the small supply of ammunition.”
The Claytons discover their cabin ransacked, with only their pistols and ammunition missing.
The theft of the revolvers signals the crew's hostile intentions.
“It was a bit of grimy, white paper roughly folded into a ragged square... a warning to the Claytons to refrain from reporting the loss of the revolvers... on pain of death.”
An anonymous note threatens the Claytons with death if they report the stolen guns or speak of the earlier incident.
The warning forces the Claytons into a position of fearful neutrality.
“Mutiny! They means murder, sir, an' mark my word for it, sir.”
The old sailor warns Clayton that the crew plans not just mutiny but murder.
Foreshadows the violent climax to come on the Fuwalda.