CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
The admiral was very kind to me, and shook hands with me when I lefthim. I returned on board of the Manilla, took leave of the surgeon, andmaster, and other officers, and then of all my mess-mates, and a boatwas manned to take Bob Cross and me on board of the Firefly. After theboat shoved off and was a little distance from the frigate, the mensuddenly tossed up their oars.
"What are you about, men?" said I.
"Look there, sir," said Bob Cross, pointing to the frigate.
I turned round, and perceived all the men in the rigging, who gave methree cheers from a pipe of the boatswain; a compliment which I had notdreamt of, and which moved me to tears. I rose, and took off my hat;the men in the boat returned the cheers, dropped their oars in thewater, and rowed to the schooner. I stepped on board, ordered the handsaft and read my commission, and then Cross's warrant; after which I wentdown into the cabin, for I wished to be alone.
I was now in command of a vessel, and not more than twenty years old. Ireflected what a career was before me, if I was fortunate, and neverneglected an opportunity of distinguishing myself; and I vowed that Inever would, and prayed to Heaven to assist my endeavours. Lord deVersely's kindness to me had struck deep into my heart, and my anxietywas, that he should be proud of me. And then I thought of the chancesfor and against me; he might marry and have children; that would be theworst thing that could happen to me: if he did not marry, his otherbrother had a large family, and the title would go to the eldest son;but that was nothing to me.
While I was summoning up all these contingencies in my mind, there was aknock at the cabin door. "Come in," said I. "Oh! is it you, Cross?I'm glad to see you. Sit down there. You see I command a vessel atlast, Bob."
"Yes, sir; and you'll command a larger one before long, I hope; but asto your being in command of a vessel--there's nothing very surprising inthat; what is surprising is, to find myself a warrant officer--the ideanever came into my head. I must write, and tell my little girl of mygood fortune; it will make her and her mother very happy."
"I must do the same, Cross. My mother will be very much pleased to hearall I have to tell her."
"I haven't heard it myself yet, Mr Keene, and that's why I came in,"replied Bob. "I know you don't want advice now; but I can't help havinga wish to know what took place between you and his lordship."
"No one has a better right to know than you, Cross, who have been such asincere friend to me; so now I'll tell you."
I then entered into a detail of all that had passed between Lord deVersely and me, and also what the admiral had said to me.
"All's right, Mr Keene," replied Bob; "and let the admiral only give ussomething to do and I think you'll believe me when I say that theboatswain of the Firefly will back you as long as he has a pin to standupon."
"That I'm sure of, Bob; you will ever be my right-hand man. There aretwo midshipmen on board, I perceive: what sort of lads may they be?"
"I haven't had time to find out; but you have a capital ship's company--that the gunner and carpenter both say."
"And a very fine vessel, Bob."
"Yes, sir, and a regular flyer, they say, if she is well managed. Youhave never been in a schooner, Mr Keene, but I have, and for nearlythree years, and I know how to handle one as well as most people."
"So much the better, Cross, for I know nothing about it. Come, I willring the bell; I suppose some one will answer it." A lad made hisappearance.
"Were you Mr Williams's servant?"
"Yes, sir."
"Get me out a bottle of wine and some glasses--there, that will do."
"Now, Bob, let's drink success to the Firefly."
"Here's success to the Firefly, Mr Keene, and success to the captain.May you do well in her, and be soon out of her."
"Thank you, Bob: here's your health, and may we long sail together."
Bob and I finished the bottle, and then we parted.
The next day, I was very busy in examining my vessel and my ship'scompany. The schooner was a beautiful model, very broad in the beam,and very low in the water; she mounted one long brass thirty-two-pounderforward on a circular sweep, so that it could be trained in everydirection; abaft, she had four brass nine-pound carronades. My ship'scompany consisted of sixty men and officers; that is, myself, two mids,boatswain, gunner, and carpenter. The mids were young lads of aboutsixteen years of age, a Mr Brown and a Mr Black, gawky tall boys, withtheir hands thrust too far though the sleeves of their jackets, andtheir legs pulled too far through their trowsers; in fact, they weregrowing lads, who had nothing but their pay to subsist upon, being bothsons of warrant officers. They bore very good characters, and Iresolved to patronise them, and the first thing which I did was, topresent them each with a new suit of uniform and a few othernecessaries, so as to make them look respectable; a most unheard-ofpiece of patronage, and which it is, therefore, my boast to record. Thefact is, I was resolved that my schooner should look respectable; myship's company were really a very fine body of men, most of them talland stout, and I had received a very good character of them from theofficer who had invalided. I had taken all his stores and furniture offhis hands, for I had plenty of money, and to spare.
As soon as I had examined my ship's company, I made them a speech, thewhich, although they were bound to hear it, I shall not inflict upon thereader, and I then went down and examined every portion of the vessel,ascertained what there was in her and where everything was. Bob Crossaccompanied me in this latter duty, which was not over till dinner-time.
The next morning my signal was made, and I went up to the admiral.
"Mr Keene," said the admiral, "here are despatches to take down to thegovernor of Curacao. When can you be ready?"
"Now, sir," replied I; "and if you will make the signal for the Fireflyto weigh anchor, there will be so much time gained."
"Very good, Keene; tell them to make the signal. You must make all thehaste you can, as they are important. Here are your orders: after youhave delivered your despatches, you will be allowed to cruise down inthat quarter, as I understand there are some very mischievous vessels inthat direction. I hope you will give me a good account of one or two ofthem, if you fall in with them."
"I will do my best, sir," replied I.
"Well, I sent you on purpose. I have ordered the senior officer atCuracao to forward the return despatches by the Mosquito, that you mayhave a chance. I won't ask you to stay to dinner, as it is an affairthat presses, so of course you will carry a press of sail. Good-bye,and I wish you success."
I took my leave of the admiral and hastened down to the town. In anhour afterwards the Firefly was driving along with a fine breeze on thequarter, and long before night the vessels in the harbour were not to bedistinguished. The breeze freshened after the sun went down, and Iremained on deck, carrying on to the last moment. Bob Cross once ortwice ventured to say, that we had better reduce the sail; but I toldBob that the admiral was very anxious that I should make a quickpassage.
"Yes, Mr Keene, but `turning the turtle' is not making a quick passage,except to the other world, and the admiral does not wish his despatchesto go there. She is a fine boat, sir, but there may be too much sailcarried on a good vessel: the men say she never has been so pressedbefore."
"Well, you are right, Bob, and so we will take a little off her."
"Yes, sir; it's my watch coming on now, and I will carry all she canbear with safety, and I think she will go quite as fast as she does now.We shall have more wind yet, sir, depend upon it."
"Well, so long as it is fair, I don't mind how much," replied I. "Sendthe watch aft."
We reduced the sail, and then I went down to bed.
At daylight I awoke and went on deck. The carpenter had the watch, forthe watches were entrusted to the warrant officers, who were all goodseamen, and accustomed to the schooner. I found that the wind hadfreshened, but was steady from the same quarter, and the schooner wasdarting through the water at
a tremendous rate.
"She sails well, Mr Hayter," said I.
"Yes, sir, that she does," replied he; "and never sailed better than shedoes now. I was a little alarmed for my sticks, last night, until youshortened sail."
"Admiral's order to carry a press of sail, Mr Hayter."
"Well, sir, then by Jove you obey orders; you half frightened the men,although they had been so long in the vessel."
I felt, by what the carpenter had said, that I had been rash. Neitherhe nor Bob Cross would have ventured so much if I had not been so; andthey understood the vessel better than I did, so I resolved to be guidedby them until I felt able to judge for myself. Notwithstanding thatsail was afterwards carried more prudently, we had a most remarkablyrapid passage; for we took the breeze with us down the whole way, notseeing a vessel during the run. I had another cause of impatience,which was, to ascertain if Mr Vanderwelt and Minnie had left theisland.
On my arrival, I went first to the naval commanding officer, and then tothe governor's, delivering my credentials. They complimented me on myhaving been so active. I accepted the governor's invitation to dinner,and then went to inquire after Mr Vanderwelt. I walked first to hishouse, but found it occupied by a Scotch merchant, who, however, wasvery polite. He stated that he was an old friend of Mr Vanderwelt, andcould give me every information, as he had received letters from himvery lately; and that, in those letters, Mr Vanderwelt had informed himthat I had said, in my last letter to them, that I was again on the WestIndia station, and requested him, if I came to the island, to show meevery attention. "So, my dear sir," continued Mr Fraser, "I trust youwill enable me to comply with my friend Mr Vanderwelt's injunctions,and consider this house as your home during your stay here."
I thanked Mr Fraser and accepted the offer. I sent for my portmanteau,and slept there that night after I had dined with the governor. Atdinner I met Captain C---, who told me he had orders to send me on acruise, and asked when I would be ready. I replied, that I should likea day or two to lift my rigging and overhaul it, as I had been very muchstrained in my passage down.
"No wonder," replied he; "you must have flown--indeed, your log provesit. Well, I will send you as soon as you are ready. The Naiad sloop isout, and so is the Driver brig, both in pursuit of three vessels, whichhave done a great deal of mischief. One is a French brig of fourteenguns, very fast and full of men. She has her consort, a large schooner,who is also a regular clipper. The other vessel is a brigantine, a veryfine vessel, built at Baltimore--of course, under French colours: shecruises alone. I don't know how many guns she carries, but I suspectthat both she and the brig will be too much for you; and unless youcould catch the schooner away from her consort, you will not be able todo much with the Firefly."
"I will do my best, sir," replied I. "I have a very fine set of men onboard, and I think, very good officers."
"Well, at all events, if you can't fight, you have a good pair of heelsto run with," replied Captain C---; "but dinner's announced."
I left early, that I might have some conversation with Mr Fraser. Onmy return we sat down to some sangoree and cigars; and then he told methat Mr Vanderwelt had left Curacao about nine months before, and thatmy last letter directed to him had been forwarded to Holland. He hadoften heard the history of my saving their lives on board of the piratevessel from Mr Vanderwelt who made it a constant theme of hisdiscourse; and, added Mr Fraser, "You do not know what a regard he hasfor you."
"And little Minnie, sir?" inquired I: "it is now nearly five years sinceI saw her."
"Little Minnie is no longer little Minnie, Mr Keene, I can assure you.She was _fifteen_ when she left the island, and had grown a tall andvery beautiful girl. All the young men here were mad about her andwould have followed her not only to Holland, but to the end of theworld, I believe, if they thought that they had the least chance--butfrom my intimacy with the family, I tell you candidly, that I think ifyou were to meet again, you would not have a bad one; for she talksincessantly of you when alone with her father: but I must not divulgefamily secrets."
"I fear there is little chance of my meeting again with her," replied I:"I have to carve my way up in my profession, and this war does notappear likely to be over soon. That I should like to see her and herfather again, I grant; for I have made but few friendships during mylife, and theirs was one of the most agreeable. Where is Mr Vanderweltsettled?"
"He is not in Holland--he is at Hamburg. Well there is no saying;accident may bring you together again, as it did on board of the pirate;and I hope it may."
Shortly afterwards we went to bed. I must say, his description ofMinnie, which was even much more in detail than I have narrated to thereader, did prevent my going to sleep for a long while. Women, as thereader may have seen, never once troubled my thoughts! I had fed uponone sole and absorbing idea, that of being acknowledged by CaptainDelmar; this was, and had been, the source and spring of every action,and was the only and daily object of reverie; it was my ambition, andambition in any shape, in whatever direction it may be led, is sopowerful as to swallow up every other passion of the human mind; butstill I had a strong affection for Minnie--that is for little Minnie, asI saw her first, with her beautiful large eyes and Madonna countenance,clinging to her father. With the exception of my own relations, whowere so much my seniors, I had had nothing to bestow my affections on--had not even made the acquaintance, I may say, of a woman, unless mycasual intercourse with Bob Cross's Mary, indeed, might be soconsidered. A passion for the other sex was, therefore, new to me; but,although new, it was pleasing, and, perhaps, more pleasing, from being,in the present case, ideal; for I had only a description of Minnie asshe was, and a recollection of what she had been. I could, therefore,between the two, fill up the image with what was, to my fancy, the idealof perfection. I did so again and again, until the night wore away;and, tired out at last, I fell fast asleep.
The next day, after I had been on board of the schooner, and given myorders to Bob Cross, I returned to Mr Fraser, and sat down to write toMr Vanderwelt; I also wrote to Minnie, which I had never done before.That my night reveries had an effect on me is certain, for I wrote her along letter; whereas, had I commenced one before my arrival at Curacao,I should have been puzzled to have made out ten lines. I told her I wassitting in the same chair, that I was sleeping in the same room, that Icould not look around me without being reminded of her dear face, andthe happy hours we passed together; that Mr Fraser had told me how tallshe had grown, and was no longer the little Minnie that used to kiss me.In fact, I wrote quite romantically as well as affectionately, and whenI read over my letter, wondered how it was that I had become soeloquent. I begged Mr Vanderwelt to write to me as soon as possible,and tell me all about their doings. I sealed my letter, and then threwmyself back in my chair, and once more indulged in the reveries of thenight before. I had a new feeling suddenly sprung up in my heart, whichthreatened to be a formidable rival to my ambition.
In two days the Firefly was ready, and I reported her as being so toCaptain C---. He gave me my orders, which were to cruise for six weeks,and then to rejoin the admiral at Port Royal, unless circumstancesshould make me think it advisable to return to the island. The boats ofthe men-of-war were sent to tow me out of the harbour, and I was oncemore on the wide blue sea--the schooner darting along like a dolphin.
For a fortnight we cruised without seeing any vessel but the Naiad. Iwas very much afraid that the captain would have ordered me to keepcompany; but as he considered his vessel quite a match for the brig andschooner if he should fall in with them, and did not want theprize-money to be shared with the crew of the Firefly, he allowed me togo my own way, saying to me, laughingly, as I went over the side, "Theywill certainly take you if they meet you, and we shall have to recaptureyou."
"Well, I hope you will not forget your promise, sir," replied I; "Ishall depend upon you."
During the fortnight that I had been out, I had taken great pains inexercising the men at thei
r guns, the great gun particularly; and I hadhad an excellent sight put on it, which it had not, and very muchrequired. During two or three days' calm, I had fired shot at a markfor three or four hours each day, and I found that the men, with thislittle practice, were very expert, and could hit a very small object,now that the sight was put on the gun. The two best shots, however,were the gunner and Bob Cross.
The night after we parted from the Naiad, I had run to the southward,having heard from the captain that the Driver was more to the northwardthan he was. There was nothing in sight on the next day, and when theevening set in, the wind being very light, and water smooth, I said toCross, "Suppose we furl sail at night--it is just as good as runningabout; we then shall see them if they come in our way, and they will notsee us."
"A very good idea, Mr Keene; we must keep a good look-out, that's all."
I followed up my own suggestion; we furled the sails, and leaving twomen with the officer of the watch to keep a sharp look-out, allowed therest of the ship's company to remain in the hammocks during the whole ofthe night.
When day broke we had two look-out men at the mast-head, but remainedwith our sails furled as before, for the same reason, that we shoulddiscern a vessel by her sails long before she could discover us. Themore I thought of it, the more convinced I was of the advantage to begained by the following up of this plan. I was on the exact cruisingground I wished to be, and therefore could not do better while theweather remained so fine.
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