As he leaves the captain’s cabin, the surgeon is disturbed. He disapproves of Captain Vere’s move to call a drumhead court and prefers that Billy be held prisoner until the fleet admiral can judge the case. Yet the surgeon refrains from seeming insolent or mutinous. The lieutenants and Mr. Mordant share the surgeon’s surprise and concern.
Privately, Captain Vere would also prefer to delay judgment until the ship rejoins the squadron. He exhibits no authority for authority’s sake, and he has no desire to monopolize responsibility that he can properly leave to his superiors or share with others. He feels, however, compelled by a potential mutiny to act swiftly in obedience to duty.
The makeshift court—composed of the first lieutenant, captain of the marines, and the sailing master—convenes quickly. Billy is arraigned; Captain Vere serves as the only witness. The first lieutenant asks Billy whether he agrees with the facts the captain has stated. Billy replies that the captain tells the truth, but that the master-at-arms spoke falsely, for he has been loyal to the king. He says he bore no malice toward Claggart and that he regrets that the man is dead, for he did not mean to kill him. He justifies his deadly act as his only means of reply when speech failed him.
The officer of marines asks Billy about rumors of mutiny, but Billy chooses to remain quiet rather than implicate the afterguardsman. Then the officer asks why Claggart should lie so maliciously about him. Billy has no answer and turns an appealing glance toward Captain Vere. After further questions from the court as to the mystery, Captain Vere states that it is a mystery that has nothing to do with military justice and turns the court’s attention once more to Billy’s deed. The officers understand the implications of this shift in emphasis; Billy does not.
In a lengthy summation, Captain Vere relates that the crew owes allegiance to the king and not to Nature. He will leave Billy’s soul to heaven, a court less arbitrary and more merciful than a martial one. He contends that Billy must hang under the law of the Mutiny Act. Billy is formally convicted and sentenced to hang from the yardarm in the early morning watch.
