The two ships were strangely quiet, groups of men moved around by lamp-light, no man went anywhere alone. All sails had been furled leaving the spars and masts as bare as trees after a forest fire. The schooner no longer bumped gunwales with the Carnatic, the deep boom as the two ships came together no longer echoed out over the dark depths. Pikes had been set lengthways between the two ships holding them together but far enough apart to prevent the Shaman from slipping from the galleon to its capturer. One by one the prisoners were released from their shackles, a rope was tied round them and they were hoisted up high into the air by men aboard the schooner, when they were over the ocean the rope was released allowing them to drop down deep into the black water below, only after they had struggled to the surface were they lifted up and onto the schooner's deck where they were quickly re-shackled. It was clear from the willingness with which the Spaniards were assisting in these measures that they would do whatever it took to rid themselves of the evil presence which had manifested itself to such an extent that it hung over both ships like a shroud.