Doing your duty in an emergency makes you a hero?
English case law 1809, Stilk v Meyrick jugement.
The captain of a ship offered the remaining crew extra wages after two men deserted. The captain refused to honour the payment once the ship was safely home.
"But the desertion of a part of the crew is to be considered an emergency of the voyage as much as their death; and those who remain are bound by the terms of their original contract to exert themselves to the utmost to bring the ship in safety to her destined port. Therefore, without looking to the policy of this agreement, I think it is void for want of consideration, and that the plaintiff can only recover at the rate of £5 a month".