CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
LE NARCISSE.
My first act on regaining the cutter was to rouse Bob and the boy whoofficiated as cook on board the "Mouette;" with the object of obtainingfrom the former any news he might have to impart, and from the latter assubstantial a breakfast as the resources of the cutter would permit.
I listened to Bob's story while engaged upon the highly necessaryoperation of cleansing my person and encasing it once more in "theuniform proper to my rank." Bobby had very little to tell me; and thatlittle was by no means reassuring. It appeared that a despatch-boat hadarrived from Malta on the previous day bringing letters for the fleet;and, among the rest, there had been a couple of epistles for me. Bobhad gone on board the "Juno" for whatever letters there might be for thecutter's crew, and had been ordered by the skipper to request mypresence on board. Thereupon master Bob had presented my note informingthe skipper of my proposed expedition. Instead of expressing hisgratification at my zeal, as Bobby had fully expected he would, itappeared that the skipper had exhibited a very considerable amount ofirritation; finally ordering friend Robert somewhat peremptorily back tothe cutter, with instructions to send me without fail on board the"Juno" immediately on my return, _if_ (which the skipper seemed toconsider highly improbable) I ever succeeded in returning at all.
By the time that Summers had brought his story to a close I was readyfor the breakfast which meantime had been preparing; and as it was stillmuch too early to present myself before Captain Hood (who seldomappeared before eight bells) I sat down to the meal, with--it must beconfessed--a somewhat diminished appetite; hastily skimming through myletters as I munched away at the weevily biscuits. There were two; onefrom my dear old dad, and one from Sir Peregrine. There was nothing ofvery special interest in either; my father's epistle dealing chieflywith a few items of home gossip, such as that farmer Giles of the Glebehad met with an accident in the hunting-field, his colt falling with himand breaking the worthy farmer's leg--doctor pronounced it a compoundfracture; that the wife of Lightfoot, the gamekeeper, had presented herhusband with twins once more--two girls this time; mother and twinsdoing well; that Old Jane Martin had been laid up all the winter withrheumatism, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera; and that finally, all at homewere enjoying excellent health, and would be glad if I could find timeto write to them a little more frequently. My great-uncle, SirPeregrine, was not nearly so voluminous in his correspondence as myfather--sailors are not as a rule very good correspondents--what he hadto say was said in as few words as possible. Two pages of note-papersufficed the worthy admiral to inform me that he had been intenselygratified at the terms in which my name had been mentioned in connexionwith the storming of the Convention Redoubt, and that he was writing persame mail to "his friend Hood" (the admiral, not the captain), askinghim to give me as many opportunities as he could of distinguishingmyself--"or of getting knocked on the head," thought I; and that if Ineeded any cash my drafts upon him would be duly honoured. Also, thathe had not been out much during the winter, his old enemy the gouthaving attacked him so pertinaciously that he had been confined to thehouse for weeks at a time, moored "stem and stern" before the libraryfire, like a prison-hulk in Portsmouth Harbour!
My letters and my breakfast were got through in about the same time; andas Bob and I emerged from our tiny cabin on to the cutter's narrow deckthe ship's bells were musically chiming out the eight strokes whichproclaimed the end of one watch and the commencement of another. Theskipper would, I knew, be stirring by this time, so I jumped into thedinghy, and proceeded on board the frigate.
As I stepped in on the "Juno's" deck, Captain Hood made his appearanceat the cabin-door. Touching my hat, I went up and reported myself.
"Good morning, Mr Chester," observed he affably; "I am very glad to seeyou have come safely out of your escapade. But what do you mean, sir,"(assuming a tone of severity), "by presuming to undertake such anexpedition without asking and obtaining permission? It is a manifestbreach of discipline, and, as such, must be punished. I placed you incharge of the cutter as a kind of promotion, and by way of reward foryour exemplary conduct generally. _Now_ I shall be compelled to depriveyou of your command. You will return forthwith to your duty on boardthe frigate, sir."
"Ay, ay, sir," I responded, considerably crestfallen. "I am extremelysorry to have incurred your displeasure, sir, I am sure. I _would_ haveasked permission, sir, but I was afraid that, after poor Mr Tupper'sdeath, it would be refused."
"Very well, Mr Chester. I have no doubt you _meant_ well, andtherefore I have been lenient in the punishment which your breach ofdiscipline demanded. You have been reprimanded on the quarter-deck,sir, and so we will say nothing more about it. Only I must impress uponyou the necessity of being careful to avoid a repetition of the offence.Now come into the cabin and have some breakfast with me, and you canthen tell us how you fared among the Frenchmen. If you have not alreadybreakfasted, Mr Annesley," (to the first lieutenant, who at this momentapproached), "I shall be glad to have the pleasure of your company."
So saying, the skipper turned on his heel, and led the way into thecabin, where we found the table well provided with a variety of goodthings highly provocative of appetite in a midshipman, even though hemight have partaken of one breakfast already within an hour.
As soon as we had seated ourselves, and were supplied from the stock ofdelicacies before us,--
"Now," said the skipper, "overhaul your log, Mr Chester, and let ushear how you managed to conduct your difficult enterprise. That youngscamp, Summers, told me all about your gallant capture," (with just thefaintest possible ironical emphasis on the word _gallant_) "of theunfortunate fishermen, so you may as well commence at the point whereyou left the cutter in their boat."
In obedience to this command I at once proceeded with my story, giving adetailed account of everything that had happened from the time ofleaving the cutter to the moment of my return.
My auditors evinced the greatest interest in my narration, and weremightily tickled when I described the manner in which I had beenrelieved of my fish by the condescending cook and the friendly corporal.Their interest increased when I described my imprisonment in and themode of escape from my dungeon; and when I had finished they bothcongratulated me very heartily upon what Captain Hood called "theresolution and courage" which I had exhibited. "It was a remarkablynarrow squeak, Mr Chester," remarked the skipper, "and I hope it willbe a warning to you not to unnecessarily expose yourself to danger forthe future. When duty calls it is of course quite another thing; and Iam perfectly willing to give you credit for a desire in the presentinstance to perform a very important service. I have alreadyreprimanded you for the breach of discipline which you committed inundertaking this expedition without first obtaining leave; let me nowexpress my satisfaction with the way in which--apart from that--you haveconducted yourself. You have succeeded in obtaining information which,I believe, will be of great value to the admiral, and I will endeavourso to represent your conduct to him as that he shall view it in afavourable light. Now, if you have finished breakfast, you had bettergo on board the cutter and transfer your chest and hammock to thefrigate, and by-and-by I will take you on board the flag-ship andintroduce you to the admiral, when you can make your report."
Accepting this as a hint to be off about my business, I rose, and makingmy bow, left the cabin.
On reaching the deck I found that the whole of the inmates of themidshipmen's berth, already apprised by the loquacious Bob of myescapade, were anxiously awaiting my reappearance, to learn allparticulars, including the result of my private interview with theskipper. Briefly informing them, however, that I had been ordered torejoin the frigate, and postponing all further information until a moreconvenient season, I hurried down over the side, and stepping into thecockleshell of a dinghy pulled on board the "Mouette," where master Bobreceived my narration with a show of sympathy which thinly veiled hisexultation at being left in sole command of the cutter.
Somehow I did not greatly regret the change. I was beginning to tire ofthe cramped accommodation on board the "Mouette;" and although I hadbeen formally reprimanded for my "breach of discipline" I was acuteenough to see that my conduct had, after all, made a favourableimpression upon the skipper, and that I had, on the whole, risen, ratherthan fallen, in his estimation.
Hurriedly bundling my few belongings together and stowing them away inthe boat, I shook hands with Bob, and was soon once more on board the"Juno."
I had barely time to trim myself up a bit, when a message was brought meto the effect that the skipper's gig was alongside, and only waited mypresence on board to shove off for the admiral's ship.
The "Victory" was lying at no great distance from us, and we were soonalongside.
I followed the skipper up the side-ladder, and found myself in thepresence of the admiral, who was taking a constitutional up and down thequarter-deck in company with Sir Hyde Parker and Vice-Admiral Hothamfrom the "Britannia."
Captain Hood immediately joined company (I remaining discreetly in thebackground, in accordance with previous instructions), and in the courseof a minute or two the party, no doubt in consequence of a suggestionfrom the skipper, retired to the cabin.
In about twenty minutes afterwards I was sent for.
I entered the cabin with, I must confess, some slight degree oftrepidation; for the admiral was a very queer sort of man in somerespects, and one never knew in what light he would be likely to viewsuch an exploit as mine. I had known of his having disrated more thanone luckless mid for a far less heinous offence than so serious a breachof discipline as that of which I had been guilty; and disrating was theone thing which presented itself to me as more objectionable thananything else in the shape of punishment--except flogging; but I builtmy hopes upon the skipper's good offices; and the result showed that Ihad no grounds for fear.
On entering, I was invited to take a chair which Lord Hood pointed out,and then, waiting until the cabin-door was shut, he rested his elbows onthe table, and supporting his chin upon his hands, looked across at meand said--
"Your captain informs me, young gentleman, that, understanding I wasanxious to obtain information respecting the condition of the enemy inBastia, you voluntarily undertook a most hazardous journey thither, andwere enabled, during your stay in the town, to make observations ofconsiderable value. I should like to hear from your own lips a detailednarrative of the adventure."
Thus commanded, I once more told my story, Lord Hood interrupting mefrom time to time to jot down memoranda in his note-book. When I hadconcluded my narration the admiral thanked me heartily for the "veryimportant service" which I had rendered, and I was also complimented bymy audience upon "the skill and intrepidity" with which I had carriedout the reconnoissance. Taking these last remarks as a politeintimation that the interview was at an end, I bowed and withdrew. Afew minutes afterwards the admiral's boat was ordered, and as soon asshe was manned, Lord Hood, Sir Hyde Parker, and the skipper got intoher, and pulled away for the British lines on shore--Captain Hooddirecting me, as he passed down the side, to take his gig back to thefrigate.
On the following day a flag of truce was sent into the town negotiationswere opened, and on the 22nd of May, 1794, the garrison capitulated onvery favourable terms to themselves.
From this date I find nothing in my diary worthy of remark until we cometo the reduction of Calvi on the 10th of August following. I was at thetime recovering from an attack of low fever, and had been off duty forsome four or five weeks.
On the evening of the capture I was walking slowly up and down the poop,when Captain Hood came up the poop-ladder and very kindly inquired aftermy health. I replied that I was getting rapidly stronger, and should bevery glad when the doctor would allow me to return to duty.
"Ah! yes," said he, "I daresay you will. Very irksome to be idlingabout the decks all day. I should think change of air would do yougood."
"I believe it would, sir," I replied, thinking from his manner ofspeaking that he had a proposal of some sort to make.
"Yes, no doubt about it," returned the skipper. "And you would like it?Then be so kind as to find Mr Malcolm," (the surgeon), "and ask him tostep into my cabin for a moment, if he is disengaged."
Certain now that there was something in the wind, I lost no time inhunting up the worthy medico and delivering the skipper's message, whichI supplemented by a request upon my own account, that if any proposalwere made to send me away upon another expedition, the doctor wouldkindly throw no difficulties in the way.
To which the canny Scotchman replied,--
"Before makin' any sic a promise, I'll just bide a wee and speir a fewparticulars anent the nature o' the said expedition, laddie. If it's o'a nature to prove benefecial to your health--why then I'm no saying butwhat I may be induced to do what I can to forward your views; but no'itherwise."
I watched him into the cabin, and then "stood off and on" outside uponthe quarter-deck, awaiting his reappearance.
I had not long to wait. In less than five minutes he came out upon thequarter-deck, and seeing me, beckoned me to approach.
"It's a' right, laddie," said he, "just gang ben til him,"--pointing tothe cabin--"and tak' your instructions. It's just the vera thing I wadhae prescribed for you had it been possible to hae had the prescriptionmad' up. But ye'll no gang oot o' the ship until ye hae been to me fora wee drappie pheesic ye maun tak' along wi' ye, d'ye mind?"
I promised the kind-hearted old fellow I would be sure to do his biddingand then joyously entered the cabin.
"Sit down, Mr Chester," said the skipper, when I made my appearance. Itook the chair which he had indicated, and he then proceeded,--
"The admiral has some important despatches to send away, which he isanxious should reach England as speedily as possible. The `Vigilant'will take them hence to Gibraltar, and the admiral there will berequested to despatch a frigate with them for the rest of the journey,as Lord Hood thinks the `Vigilant' scarcely fit to cross the Bay ofBiscay. The only question has been who to send with them, as there isstill a great deal to be done before the fleet can leave the island, andthere are no officers to spare. Lord Hood mentioned the matter to me,and I immediately thought of you. You will have nothing to do butsimply navigate the craft to Gibraltar, which, I learn, you are quiteable to do; and it will be a pleasant change for you--beneficial, too,Malcolm says. There is only one thing I feel called upon to suggest toyou, and that is--_caution_. Recollect that you are a despatch-boat,not a cruiser; and let _nothing_ which you can possibly avoid tempt youto delay the delivery of the despatches or endanger their safety. Youare very young for such a trust, I know; but you seem to have as muchtact and discretion as a good many of your seniors, and I see no reasonwhy you should not execute the service satisfactorily. At all events Ihave answered for you, and I trust you will do all you can to justify mygood opinion of you. You had better shift your traps over to the`Vigilant' at once, and then proceed on board the admiral's ship for thedespatches and your instructions, as he is anxious for you to sail atonce."
I thanked the skipper heartily both for the thoughtfulness andconsideration which had procured for me the change of air which seemedneeded for my complete recovery, and also for the confidence in me whichsuch a commission argued; and I promised him most earnestly that thesafe delivery of the despatches should be my paramount care.
"That's right, Mr Chester," said he, as I rose to leave the cabin."Before I say good-bye, I may as well mention that I have been greatlypleased with your conduct ever since you first joined the ship. Iconsider you a most promising young officer; you have conducted yourselfextremely well on more than one trying occasion, and I have procuredthis little commission for you in the hope that it will afford you stillanother opportunity of acquiring credit and advancing your interests. Iwish you a quick and prosperous passage, and shall be glad to see yoursafe return. And as long as you continue to conduct yourself well, youmay count upon me as a friend, willing
to do all that is possible to aidyou. Now--good-bye! and take care of yourself."
So saying, he shook hands heartily with me, and then, flinging himselfback once more in his chair, he turned to a number of papers whichlittered his table; while I made my way out upon deck, scarcely knowingwhether I stood upon my head or my heels, so overjoyed was I at theprospect of the trip.
In less than an hour afterwards I was on board the "Vigilant," with thedespatch-box safely stowed away in the most secret hiding-place I couldfind, and my instructions in my breast-pocket.
The night was lovely, not the faintest breath of air ruffled the surfaceof the glassy waters, in whose dark mysterious depths glittered aperfect reflection of every star which beamed in the blue-black vaultoverhead. So perfect was the stillness of nature that we could hear,with the utmost distinctness, the songs of the men on board thedifferent ships, and even the talking and laughing on board those in ourmore immediate vicinity; and when we rigged out our sweeps to sweep thecraft into the offing, where I hoped we might the sooner catch a breeze,their roll and rattle seemed almost unbearably loud in contrast with thequiet which prevailed around us.
Having a good strong crew on board, I kept them at the sweeps for acouple of hours, by which time we had gained an offing of about eightmiles, when I ordered the sweeps to be laid in and the canvas to be set.Shortly afterwards the moon rose, and, bringing up a nice littlesoutherly breeze with her, we were soon slipping through the water,close-hauled on the port tack, and laying well up on our course for oldGib.
The skipper had been considerate enough to send with me anothermidshipman, a quiet, steady, and gentlemanly lad named Harold Smellie, ayear younger than myself, and a boatswain's mate named Tom Hardy, a verysuperior and well-educated man for his position, a prime seaman, andthoroughly reliable in every way. These two I put in charge of thewatches, and then, having seen that everything was satisfactory on deckand in the look of the weather, I went below and tumbled into myhammock, leaving of course the stereotyped charge to be called in theevent of anything "turning up" out of the usual way.
On awaking next morning, I found that the breeze had freshened veryconsiderably during the night, so much so indeed that when I went ondeck the "Vigilant" was tearing through it with her lee-rail under,although the lateens were reefed to their utmost capacity. There was avery awkward jump of a sea on already, and it was fast increasing; butthe light beamy little craft, although she tossed the spray in blindingshowers from her weather-bow right aft and out over her lee quarter,never shipped a drop of green water, and I was highly delighted at herexcellent sea-going qualities. I thought, however, that she would takethe seas much more easily if she were relieved of the strain andleverage aloft of her long heavy swaying yards; I therefore had thelateens taken in and the lugs substituted for them, and was rewarded formy trouble by finding my anticipations amply realised.
The wind continued to increase all through the morning, and by noon itwas blowing quite a fresh gale, with a correspondingly heavy sea.
At five p.m. the lookout reported a sail about two points on ourweather-bow.
"What do you make her out to be?" demanded I.
"She looks large enough for a frigate," replied the man; "but I shallhave a better sight of her in a few minutes, sir; she is steering thisway."
"I say, Chester, suppose it's a frigate from Gibraltar with despatchesfor the admiral; what will you do?" exclaimed young Smellie, as we stoodtogether by the weather-bulwarks, hanging on to the main-rigging.
"There is only one thing that we _can_ do, and that is, exchangedespatches, and each return as quickly as possible to our respectivestarting-points. It will be a great bore if we are obliged to cut shortour cruise; but our despatches are urgent, and our duty plainly is toforward them with all possible speed; and as this vessel, if she proveto be a frigate, will almost certainly be a much faster craft thanourselves, we shall be in duty bound to put our despatch-box on board ofher."
"How will you get them on board?" inquired my companion. "It would be avery ticklish business to launch a boat in this sea."
"We must get near enough, if possible, to effect the exchange withoutthe aid of a boat," returned I. "With care on both sides I think itmight be safely managed. What does the stranger look like by thistime?" I continued to the lookout.
"Seems to me that he has a very Frenchified look about him, sir,"replied he.
"Phew! I hope not," said I to Smellie. "Lend me your glass a moment,will you? Mine is down below. I think I'll take a trip aloft and seewhat I can make out about him."
I accordingly went aloft to the fore-yard, and sitting astride it, closeto the parrals, took as good a look at the fast-approaching craft as theswaying of the yard and the lively motion of the little "Vigilant" wouldpermit.
I remained there for quite ten minutes, and by the end of that time feltperfectly satisfied as to her nationality. She was French, from hertruck downwards, without a doubt.
This was an extremely awkward _rencontre_, and one which I scarcelyexpected. Indeed, our own frigates were at that time so thoroughlyscouring the Mediterranean, particularly that portion of it lyingbetween Gibraltar and Malta, that an enemy's ship was almost the lastobject we might expect to see.
"I'm afraid we're in a mess here," said I to Smellie, as I joined himaft, by the companion. "That fellow is a Frenchman, and he has theweather-gage, to say nothing of his ability to sail round and round usin this weather, if we took to our heels. Now, the question is, how canwe hoodwink him and slip through his fingers?"
"Perhaps we could personate some other craft of about our size and rig,"suggested little Smellie doubtfully.
"Um! possibly. Let's get the French navy list, and just run through it.If there's anything at all like ourselves we shall soon find it."
My companion dived down below, and in less than a minute afterwardsreturned with the list and the French signal-book.
We turned it over together, and presently came upon a craft named the"Vidette," which seemed, from her description, to be almost a sister-ship to the "Vigilant." We accordingly determined to assume her nameduring the communications which would soon pass between us and thefrigate. The French ensign was bent on, and we then turned up the"Vidette's" number, and bent these flags also on the halliards, afterwhich we could do nothing but wait.
Suddenly a thought struck me. There were several old red nightcapsstill on board, which had been found when the vessel fell into ourhands. These I at once routed out, and made each man on deck don oneinstead of his sou'-wester; we were then effectually disguised, as therest of our clothing was concealed by the oilskins which we were wearingto protect ourselves from the drenching spray.
We had scarcely finished our preparations when Smellie, who was watchingthe frigate through his telescope, reported that our unwelcome neighbourhad hoisted the tricolour, which was of course a polite request that wewould show the colour of _our_ bunting.
"Run up the ensign and number," said I to the men who were stationed atthe signal-halliards; and away went the bunting fluttering aloft, theflags all abroad, in the lubberly fashion which prevailed at that timein the French navy.
In a few seconds our signal was read; and, in response, up went thefrigate's number, which little Smellie read out as it was going aloft."Private signal pennant. Eight, two, seven, four."
"Run up the answering pennant," said I to the signal-man, as I turned upthe number in the signal-book.
"Le Narcisse" was the name corresponding to this number; and I was aboutto turn up the navy list, to learn what particulars I could respectingthe craft, when my companion exclaimed, "More bunting. White flag withblue cross, diagonal. Three, nine, nought, one."
We acknowledged the signal, and, on turning it up, found that it was arequest to "Round-to under my lee: wish to communicate with you."
This brought the signalling to a close; and in about a quarter of anhour afterwards, we rounded-to on the frigate's lee beam, while thatcraft laid her main-tops
ail to the mast.
As soon as the two craft were within hailing distance a dapper littlefigure, dressed in the full uniform of a French naval captain, leapedinto the mizzen-rigging with all the activity of a monkey, and, raisinghis hat slightly in salute (which I of course scrupulously returned),gave a preliminary flourish or two with a speaking-trumpet almost as bigas himself, and then, applying it to his lips squeaked out, in French ofcourse, in a shrill falsetto which set all our people on the broadgrin,--
"`Vidette ahoy!' Are you the guarda-costa of that name?"
"Ay, ay, monsieur," I briefly replied.
"Oh! very well," said he. "I am Citizen Alphonse Latour, captain of `LeNarcisse' frigate, in the service of the French Republic. Whither areyou bound?"
"We are cruising to the southward and eastward on the lookout for anEnglish fleet which is reported to be somewhere hereabouts," I replied,with a mischievous desire to see what effect the mention of an Englishfleet would have upon him.
"An English fleet! _Hereabouts_!! diable!!!" he exclaimed. "I shouldlike to fall in with them. I hope, however, _they_ will not fall inwith my prize. Ah! Good!! Listen, monsieur, I fell in with andcaptured an English merchantman yesterday, with a valuable cargo onboard. You shall oblige me by going on until you fall in with him--heis only about one hundred miles south-east of us--and you shall escorthim into Toulon; while as for `Le Narcisse'--_parbleu_, she will remainhere in waiting for the accursed English fleet, and fight them all whenthey shall arrive. Is it not so?"
"Your orders shall have my best attention, monsieur," I replied; "and Itrust you will not have to wait long for the English. I have the honourto wish you a very good day."
We raised our hats and bowed simultaneously; the little French captainscrambled down out of the rigging; I sprang off the low rail on to thedeck; and we filled away upon our course once more, leaving the fire-eating Frenchman with his topsail still to the mast, waiting for "theaccursed English."
Little Smellie and I enjoyed a good laugh over the _rencontre_, now thatit was past and we had escaped undetected; and we united in a cordialhope that the gallant little skipper of "Le Narcisse" would have hiswish for a meeting with the English speedily gratified.
_He had_, as we subsequently found out, but the result could scarcelyhave been satisfactory to him; for when next I saw Malta "Le Narcisse"was in harbour there, a prize.
At six o'clock next morning we were fortunate enough to fall in with theprize--a barque of about 800 tons, loaded with various products of theEast, forming, as Captain Alphonse Latour had truly remarked, a veryvaluable cargo--she had been steering a course which threw her fairlyinto our arms, so to speak; and, as the weather had moderated, and thesea gone down a good deal we simply ran her on board, drove theastonished French prize crew below, and took possession.
On instituting a search, we found that the astute skipper of "LeNarcisse" had taken out the entire crew except the second mate and threehands--whom he had left on board to assist in working the ship--so as toprevent all possibility of a rising and a recapture. We transferred theFrenchmen to the "Vigilant;" put eight of our own men on board, incharge of young Smellie; and then made sail in company for Gibraltar.As, however, the "Vigilant" sailed two feet to the barque's one, we hadrun her completely out of sight by noon; and we could only hope that shewould reach the Rock in safety--which she luckily did, and we of the"Vigilant" ultimately netted a good round sum in the shape of prize-money on her account.
About three p.m. on the same day as that on which we took our prize, wemade another sail dead to windward, steering the same way as ourselves,but rather edging down upon us. We must have sighted each othersimultaneously; for, while still examining him with my telescope, I sawhim bear up upon a course evidently intended to cut us off. The"Vigilant," however, continued to steer the same course as before; myintention being to try the same trick with him--in the event of hisbeing a Frenchman--which had succeeded so well with "Le Narcisse"; andif he was an Englishman, I had of course nothing to fear.
In about another hour we had neared each other sufficiently to permit ofour colours being seen; and no sooner was this the case than thestranger flew her ensign--the English--and fired a gun for us to heave-to. I at once obeyed; and in about twenty minutes afterwards sherounded-to within pistol-shot to windward of us and lowered a boat.
The day being fine I was of course in my ordinary uniform; and I couldnot wholly conceal a smile at the look of disappointment and disgustwhich overspread the features of the officer in charge, as the boatapproached sufficiently near to permit of his seeing that, whatever theship might be, the crew were English.
I awaited him at the lee gangway; and on his stepping up out of theboat, raised my hat in due form, a salute which he very gracefullyreturned.
"Well, young gentleman," said he, "what craft have you here, pray, andwhere are you bound to?"
I told him briefly what we were, and so on; and in reply to hisquestions, gave him a short account of the way in which the "Vigilant"had come into our hands, at which he seemed much interested.
"Well," said he, when I had finished the story, "I must say I am sorryyou are not French; for we should then have had an opportunity of makinga prize of some sort, even though you would have been but very smallfry; but _anything_ will be fish which comes to our net now. We havebeen knocking about here for nearly a month, and never a sign of aFrenchman have we seen during the whole time."
"Indeed!" said I, "you _have_ been unlucky; but I hope your luck has nowchanged at last. Though you cannot make a prize of us, I think I canput you on the track of one."
"Ah! do you indeed? Come, that's a great deal better," said he, in avery different tone from that which had characterised his conversationhitherto. "My dear boy, pray let us have your news without furtherado."
I accordingly described to him our meeting with "Le Narcisse," andmentioned Captain Alphonse Latour's enthusiastic and patrioticdetermination to await on that spot the approach of the "accursedEnglish;" concluding my story by giving the exact latitude and longitudeof the place where our meeting with "Le Narcisse" took place.
When I had given him all particulars he rose to take his leave.
"Good-bye," said he, "and accept, through me, the thanks of CaptainLacey, the officers, and the whole ship's company of the `Diamond' forthe very valuable information you have afforded us. I only hopeMonsieur Latour was sincere in his resolve; we will not keep him waitingvery long. A pleasant passage to you and I hope your prize will getsafely in. Lucky young dog, you are, and no mistake."
"Good-bye," I returned. "I wish you a speedy and pleasant meeting withMonsieur Latour."
And with another shake of the hand we parted. Poor fellow! he littleknew what lay before him. The "Diamond" actually found "Le Narcisse"cruising about the spot I had indicated, and one of the shot of theFrenchman's first broadside took his head off.
Four days afterwards we anchored at Gibraltar just in time to hear theevening gun, having been favoured, during the entire passage, with awind which permitted us to lay our course with every thread of canvasdrawing to its utmost.
Under the Meteor Flag: Log of a Midshipman during the French Revolutionary War Page 21
