CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
WESTWARD HO!
I found all hands at home in the best of health, and received of coursea hearty welcome from them. My father appeared to be exactly as I hadleft him, not a day older; but my mother had gathered an extra wrinkleor two about the comers of her eyes, I thought, and the grey hairs weremustering pretty strongly. Poor soul! all the stress and strain fellupon her; it was she who had all the planning, the cutting, andcontriving to make both ends meet; and it was no wonder if she showedhere and there a scar received in the tough battle. The girls showedthe greatest alteration, and, I may add, improvement of appearance, forthey had developed from pretty girls into most lovely women--at least_I_ thought so.
I had been home a fortnight when my uncle, Sir Peregrine Portfire, towhom I had written shortly after my arrival, came down, and took up hisquarters with us. Life under the old roof-tree was very quiet anduneventful, and nothing worthy of note occurred for the first six weeksof my stay. I was taking matters quietly for a while, as I thought Iwas justified in doing, when, about the end of the time I have named, achaise drove up to the door one evening, about half an hour before theappearance of dinner upon the table, and out jumped Mr Annesley. I wasdelighted to see him, and forthwith introduced him to my father and SirPeregrine, both of whom gave him a most cordial welcome. My mother andthe girls were dressing for dinner at the time.
On dinner being announced, our newly-arrived and self-invited guest tookmy sister Florrie in tow, and, having convoyed her safely to a chair,brought himself to an anchor alongside her, playing the agreeable soeffectively that he quite absorbed Miss Florrie's attention during themeal. On the departure of the ladies, the object of his visit came out.He had, in just recognition of his services, been appointed to thecommand of a new frigate, named the "Astarte," which was then fitting-out at Portsmouth for the West India station; and he had hunted me up tosee if I would go with him. I at once frankly told him there wasnothing I should like better; and, as my uncle also approved of theproposal, the question was settled then and there.
I learned, with a great deal of pleasure, that he had secured as hisfirst lieutenant, Mr Flinn, our quondam "second" on board the "Juno."Bob Summers and little Smellie were also going to be with us once more,so that we promised to be quite a family party. Mr Flinn, it appeared,had already joined, as well as the second lieutenant, Summers, Smellie,and another midshipman; the former, assisted by Smellie and the new mid,being engaged in superintending the fitting-out of the ship, while thesecond lieutenant and Master Bob were getting together a crew. The twolatter were taking their time about this business--Captain Annesleybeing very anxious to have a thorough picked crew--but they hadsucceeded in securing some five and twenty of the primest seamen latelypaid off from the "Juno," as well as about forty other good men. My newskipper was kind enough to say that I need be in no hurry to join, as hewould write and let me know when my services were required.
These matters settled, we joined the ladies, and, as it seemed to me,the skipper was again very attentive to Florrie, turning over the pagesof her music, joining her in a duet or two, and reeling off small-talkby the fathom between whiles.
Next morning, after an early breakfast, we--that is, Captain Annesley,my uncle, and I--started for Portsmouth; the former to remain there andwatch the progress of work on board the "Astarte," my uncle and I tojust take a look at the new craft and get back home again in time fordinner.
A smart drive of an hour and a half landed us at the "George" inPortsmouth, and we forthwith proceeded to the dockyard and on board.The craft was still alongside the sheers, but her lower-masts were inand rigged, the tops over the mast-heads, and the three topmasts allready for going aloft. She proved to be an 18-pounder 38-gun frigate,with a flush upper-deck fore and aft, which presented a beautifullyspacious appearance to us who had been accustomed to the cramped look ofthe "Juno's" upper-deck, cut into by the poop and topgallant-forecastle.Her hull was very long, and rather lower in proportion than that of the"Juno;" and her lines were as fine as it had been possible to make them.The joiners were still busily at work upon the captain's cabin and thegun-room, and everything was in a state of indescribable litter andconfusion, but I saw enough to satisfy me that my new ship was as fine acraft of her class as ever slid off the stocks, and I looked forward toa happy and stirring life on board her. Having taken a good look roundher in every part, shaken hands with little Smellie, and made theacquaintance of the new mid, a little shrimp of a fellow named Fisher,my uncle and I started for home again.
On the day but one following, Sir Peregrine and I trundled up to town tosee about my outfit, as there were several things I should require onthe West India station that had not been necessary in the Mediterranean.On our return we found the skipper comfortably domiciled in his formerquarters. Things, he said, were going on so satisfactorily atPortsmouth that he had felt no hesitation about leaving everything toMr Flinn and accepting an invitation--which my father had pressed uponhim on the occasion of his first visit--to spend Christmas at therectory, and to indulge in the unwonted luxury of a thorough rest.
My father was always busy with his parish-work, and Sir Peregrine's goutprecluded the possibility of his taking much outdoor exercise, so theduty of entertaining our guest devolved almost wholly upon the girls andmyself. And I must say that our efforts in that direction appeared tobe crowned with signal success. We had a spin after the hounds once ortwice, and did a little shooting, but my superior officer appeared toenjoy the skating-parties most, when the frost would allow us to indulgein this pastime, and I could not help noticing how regularly we seemedto separate into two parties; the skipper invariably pairing off withFlorrie, and leaving Amy to my care and pilotage.
At length a letter came from Mr Flinn to say that the ship was allataunto, and would in another eight-and-forty hours be quite ready forsea. It arrived while we were at breakfast; and as he announced itscontents and intimated that we must both be off forthwith, I saw mysister Florence go pale to the lips for a moment and then flush up asthough the blood would burst through her delicate skin. The news threwa complete damper upon the previously merry party, and the meal wasfinished in almost perfect silence. At length my father returned thanksand rose to retire to his study. As he did so Captain Annesley alsorose and said something to him in a low tone, which seemed to me to be arequest for a few moments' private conversation. My father bowed, andled the way to the library, with the skipper following close in hiswake.
They were closeted together nearly an hour, and when the man-o'-warrejoined us, the first thing he did was to carry Florrie off to theconservatory. My mother was, as usual, at that hour, busy in her ownsnuggery with the cook, so that Amy and I found ourselves left alone inthe drawing-room, Sir Peregrine having retired to the terrace for hismorning smoke. I began by this time to see pretty clearly what was inthe wind; so when Amy proposed that I should accompany her as far as oldMrs Jones' cottage, I assented with effusion. We returned just in timeto sit down to luncheon; and when we took our places at table, Florrie'slook of mingled joy and sadness, the sparkling diamond upon her engagedfinger, and the elated look upon my skipper's handsome face told me allthat I had before only shrewdly suspected.
Immediately after luncheon, the carriage was brought round, our trapstumbled on board, and the skipper and I started for Portsmouth, after amost affecting leave-taking all round. Poor Florrie bore up bravelyuntil the very last moment, when, as Annesley took her hand and bentover her to say good-bye, her fortitude completely deserted her, and,flinging herself into his arms, she sobbed as if her heart would break.I felt a lump rise in my own throat as I sat an unwilling witness to herdistress; while as for Annesley--but avast! we are bound on a quest forhonour and glory, so stow away the tear-bottles, coil down all tenderfeeling out of sight, and Westward Ho! for the land of Yellow Jack.
On the day but one following, we sailed from Spithead in half a gale ofwind from E.N.E., with frequent snow-squalls; pretty much
the sameweather in fact as we had on the eventful occasion of my sailing in the"Scourge." We looked into Plymouth Sound on out way, assumed the convoyof a fleet of some seventeen sail, and proceeded.
Oh! the misery of convoy-duty. To feel that you have a smart shipunderfoot and a crew who will shrink from nothing their skipper may putthem alongside, and to be doomed to drag along, day after day, underclose-reefed topsails, in order to avoid running away from the sluggish,deep-laden merchantmen; with signalling and gun-firing going on day andnight, restraining the swift and urging on the slow; with an occasionalcruise round the entire fleet to keep them well together, and aneverlasting anxious lookout to see that no fast-sailing privateer orpirate sneaks in and picks up one of your charges--it is almost as badas blockading.
However, all things come to an end sooner or later; and we were lookingforward to a speedy release from our annoyances--having arrived within acouple of days' sail of the Mona Passage--when just after sun-rise thelookout aloft reported a small object apparently a boat, about fivemiles distant on our port bow. As the weather was beautifully fine,with our convoy bowling along under every rag of canvas they couldspread, and no sign of any lurking picaroons in our neighbourhood, theskipper had our course altered, so as to give the strange object anoverhaul. As we ran rapidly down upon it, we perceived that it wasindeed a boat, but she showed neither mast nor oar, and we were unableto distinguish any one on board her. When within a mile of her,however, the lookout hailed to say he thought he saw some people lyingdown in her bottom. A few minutes more, and our doubts were removed bythe sight of some person rising for a moment into a sitting position andthen sinking down into the bottom of the boat again.
"A shipwrecked crew, apparently," observed the skipper; "but why don'tthey out oars and stand by to pull alongside?"
"Perhaps they are lying asleep, tired out with a long spell of pullingalready?" suggested Mr Woods, the second lieutenant.
Five minutes afterwards we swept close past her.
"Boat ahoy!" hailed the skipper; and once more a figure appeared for amoment above the boat's gunwale, waved its hand feebly, and sank downagain. But--merciful Heaven! what a sight it was, which was thusmomentarily presented to our view. The figure was that of a full-grownman clad in the ordinary garb of a Spanish seaman, but the clothes hungabout it in rags, and the features were so shrunken that the skinappeared as though strained over a naked skull.
"Good God!" ejaculated Captain Annesley. "Why, they are in the laststage of starvation. Round-to and back the main-yard, if you please,Mr Flinn. Mr Chester, take the gig, and tow them alongside. Where'sthe doctor?"
I jumped into the gig, with six hands; she was lowered down, the tacklesunhooked, and away we went. A few strokes took us alongside the boat;and I then saw a sight which I shall never forget. The boat seemed fullof bodies, all huddled together in the bottom in such a way that it wasimpossible to count them as they lay there, and the stench which arosewas so sickening that we had to hold our nostrils while the painter wasbeing cleared away and made fast.
We were soon alongside the frigate once more, and the doctor with hisassistant at once jumped down into the Spanish boat and proceeded toexamine its occupants. Three of them proved to be still alive; theremainder were dead and rotted almost out of the semblance of humanity.The survivors were hoisted as carefully as possible on board thefrigate; and then, as the best means we could think of for disposing ofthe boat and her dreadful freight, half a dozen eighteen-pound shot werepassed down into her, a plank knocked out of her bottom, and she wasleft to sink, which she did before the frigate had sailed many yardsfrom the spot.
The survivors were tended all that day with the utmost care by ourworthy medico, and toward evening he was enabled to announce thegratifying intelligence that he hoped to save them all. The next daythey were very much better; and on the day following one of them--theman whom we had seen rise up in the boat--was strong enough to tell ushis story. I will not repeat it in all its dreadful details ofsuffering; suffice it to say that their ship, homeward-bound from SaintIago, had been attacked by a piratical schooner, the crew of which,after rifling and scuttling the ship, had turned the crew adrift in oneof their own boats, without provisions or water, masts or sails; andthere they had been, drifting helplessly about the ocean for the to themendless period of nineteen days, without seeing a single sail until wehove in sight.
On the fifth day after rescuing these poor creatures we arrived at PortRoyal, where we anchored, while such of our convoy as were bound forKingston went on up the harbour.
I had heard much respecting the beauty of the Island of Jamaica; and itsappearance from the sea, as we had drawn in toward our anchorage, wassuch as to satisfy me that its attractions had not been overrated. Iwas anxious to have a run ashore; and was therefore very glad when theskipper, who had business at Kingston, invited me to go with him. Iought to have mentioned, by-the-bye, that he had long ago taken me intohis confidence with regard to his engagement to Florrie--had done so, infact, within a quarter of an hour of the time when he bade her good-bye,so that, though of course he was still the skipper in public, when wehappened to be by ourselves he sank the superior officer, and mergedinto the friendly intimacy of the prospective brother-in-law.
We jumped into the gig and rowed ashore to the wharf at Port Royal, itbeing the skipper's intention to take a wherry for the trip to Kingston.The moment that our wants were made known, the black boatmen crowdedround us in a perfect mob, each extolling the merits of his own boat anddepreciating those of the others. From words they soon came to blows,the combatants lowering their heads and butting at each other likegoats, until one Hercules of a fellow, having won by force of arms--orrather, by the superior thickness and strength of his woolly skull--theright to convey us to our destination, we were led in triumph by him tohis boat, and comfortably stowed away in the stern-sheets. The sea-breeze had by this time set in; and in a few minutes more we weretearing along the five-foot channel at a slashing pace. As we spunalong toward our destination, I could not help remarking upon theperfect safety from attack by an enemy which Kingston enjoys. In thefirst place, the approach from the outside is of so difficult acharacter, in consequence of the narrowness and intricacy of thechannels between the outlying shoals and reefs, that it would be almostimpossible for a stranger to find his way in. If, however, he should byany chance get safely as far as Port Royal, its defences would assuredlystop his further progress; and then, as though these were not deemedsufficient, a little way up the harbour we come to the Apostle'sBattery; beyond which again is Fort Augusta. Altogether I think I neversaw a more strongly-defended place, excepting, of course, Gibraltar.
In due time we reached the wherry-wharf at Kingston, and landed. Aquarter of an hour's walk under the piazzas which line the streets inthe lower part of the town brought us to Mr Martin's store, whither wewere bound, and on inquiring for him, we were at once shown into hisoffice. The skipper introduced himself and me, explained his business,which was soon done, and then we rose to leave.
As Mr Martin shook hands with us, he said,--
"Excuse me, gentlemen, but have you any engagements for to-day?"
The skipper replied that we had not, we were both strange to the place,and we proposed chartering a carriage for a drive into the country, inorder that we might see a few of the far-famed beauties of the island.
"Then pray allow me to be your pilot," said our new friend. "I havereally nothing particular to attend to to-day, and I shall be very happyto show you round. If you can spare so much time, I am going thisafternoon to visit a sugar-estate of mine a few miles out of town, staythe night, and return to-morrow morning after breakfast, and I shall bedelighted to have the pleasure of your company."
Nothing could have suited us better; we accordingly accepted hisinvitation, and forthwith set off to see what there was to be seen ofthe town. In the course of our peregrinations we met and wereintroduced to several of our host's friends, each of whom shook hand
swith us as though he had known us all our lives, and forthwith gave us apressing invitation to his "place."
About four o'clock we returned to Mr Martin's store, where we found hisketureen--a sort of gig--waiting, and also that of a Mr Finnie, anothersugar-planter who was going to make one of the party. The skipperjumped in alongside of Mr Martin, I stowed myself away alongside hisfriend, and away we dashed up the sandy streets and out of town in thedirection of the Blue Mountains.
We reached the estate, and the house upon it, just in time to escape aviolent thunder-storm, accompanied by such rain as I had never seenbefore. It came down literally in _sheets_, completely obscuringeverything beyond a couple of dozen yards distant, and rattling upon thethatched roof as though it would beat it in. It lasted about an hour,ceasing as suddenly as it had commenced, and leaving the air clear,cool, and pure.
We had a most excellent dinner, washed down by a glass or two of goodwine; some capital stories illustrative of life on the island were told;and about midnight we all turned in, I, for one, being almost knocked upby my tramp about Kingston, after the confinement of the ship.
The next morning we took a walk over the estate before breakfast,visiting the negroes' quarters, the sugar-mill, and other buildings, andgaining thereby an appetite which proved most destructive to our host'spickled mackerel, cold boiled tongue, eggs, etcetera. We made a cleansweep of the comestibles, washed all down with a cup or two of tea, andthen started for Kingston, finally arriving on board the "Astarte" aboutnoon.
We remained at Port Royal two days longer, during which we gave thecraft a brush of paint inside and out, and otherwise titivated her upafter her run out from England, when we received orders to sail upon athree-months' cruise among the Windward Islands. We accordinglyweighed, and stood out to sea with the first of the land breeze; and,having cleared the shoals, hauled up on the port tack, keeping closeunder the land to take all possible advantage of the land breeze inmaking our easting. By midnight we were off Morant Point, from which wetook our departure; and in another hour were tearing along undertopgallant-sails, upon a taut bowline, and looking well up for theIsland of Grenada, under the influence of a strong trade-wind.
The skipper was most anxious to thoroughly test the sailing powers ofthe "Astarte," this being the first time that an opportunity hadoccurred for so doing; and we accordingly carried on all next day,taxing the toughness of our spars to their utmost limit, and sosatisfactory was the result that all hands, fore and aft, felt sanguinethat we should meet with very few craft able to beat us either in thematter of speed or weatherliness. The "Astarte" also proved to be avery pretty sea-boat, though a trifle wet when being driven hard--butthen, what craft is not?
As we drew to the southward the trade-wind hauled round a trifle fartherfrom the eastward, its prevailing direction being about E.N.E. Thisbroke us off a couple of points, and set us so much the more to leeward,but beyond that we had nothing to complain of, for the weather continuedfine, and the breeze strong and steady.
On the evening of our third day out from Kingston we sighted land on thelee bow, which turned out to be the south end of the Island of Oruba,off the entrance to the Gulf of Maracaybo. We weathered the islandcleverly before dark, though without very much room to spare, and passedin between it and Curacao, making land again about six bells in themiddle watch, on the mainland this time, about Hicacos Point. At eightbells in the same watch we tacked ship and stood off shore; and when thesun rose, the Island of Curacao appeared upon our weather bow.Continuing upon the starboard tack all that day, we hove about again atthe beginning of the first dog-watch, thinking that we might possibly beable to pick up a stray Spaniard or Dutchman.
On the following afternoon, about four p.m., land was once more made,directly ahead.
"Land!" murmured little Fisher--who from his diminutive stature hadacquired from his fellow-mids the sobriquet of "Six-foot"--"Land! it'snothing but `land ho!' What land _is_ it, for gracious sake?" to MrCarter, the master's-mate, who happened to be standing near him.
"The Rocca Islands," answered Carter. "The master says it's a verylikely spot in which to find a pirate's nest--just a group of some five-and-twenty rocks, they are not much larger, and one island about tenmiles long and six wide, with reefs and shoals all round. Did you eversmell gunpowder, Six-foot?"
"Not yet," answered little Fisher, "but you know this is only my secondvoyage?"
"And your first was from London to Margate, eh? Well, perhaps you'llhave a chance of smelling it before long." And Carter walked awayforward.
The little fellow flushed up crimson, and then went pale to the lips.
"Why, Six-foot, what's the matter with you; you are not frightened, areyou? Carter was only joking."
"Was he?" said the boy, "I didn't know. You asked me if I feltfrightened, Ralph, I don't know whether it was fright or not, but I feltvery queer. You know I have never been in action yet, and I think itmust be so _dreadful_ to hear the shot crashing in through the ship'ssides, and to see strong men struck down maimed and bleeding, or perhapskilled outright, and I have a horrible feeling that when I see thesethings for the first time I shall turn sick and faint, and perhapsmisbehave in some way. And I wouldn't act like a coward for the world;my father is a very proud man, and I don't think he would ever forgiveme for bringing such disgrace on his name."
I could understand the poor little fellow's feelings perfectly, Ithought, for had I not experienced something of the same kind myself? Icheered him up as well as I could; telling him that whenever the timecame I felt sure he would behave perfectly well, and that with thefiring of the first shot all trace of the peculiar and unpleasantsensations of which he spoke would pass completely away.
I was still talking with him when the skipper's steward came up to uswith an invitation for both to dinner in the cabin. The subject wasaccordingly dropped, and we hurried away to dress.
We were just finishing our soup when Mr Vining, the third lieutenant,came down to say that two ships had just rounded the southernmost end ofthe large island, and were working their way in among the shoals towardsa small shallow bay on the north, western side.
"What do they look like, Mr Vining?" queried the skipper.
"One is a full-rigged ship, apparently of about six hundred tons; theother is a low, wicked-looking brigantine, sir, very loftily rigged, andwith an immense spread of canvas."
"Um!" said the skipper. "Just keep a sharp eye upon them, if youplease, Mr Vining, and see what you can make of them. I'll be on deckshortly."
The second lieutenant withdrew, and we hurried on with the meal. By thetime that we had finished and were on deck once more, the sun had set,and the short twilight of the tropics was upon us. The islands--mererocks, as Carter had said--forming the western extremity of the groupwere already on our lee beam; the nearest of them being about threemiles distant, while others stretched away to leeward of them right awayto the horizon, and even beyond it. Key Grande, the largest of thegroup, lay right ahead, distant about fifteen miles; while El Roque,another island, lay broad upon our weather bow, about five milesdistant. The lookout aloft reported the two strange sail to be justanchoring.
"We've stayed below a trifle too long, I'm afraid," said the skipper;"we shall have darkness upon us in ten minutes. Mr Chester, kindlyslip up to the topsail-yard and see what you can make out about thestrangers, if you please."
"I'll come with you, Ralph, my boy," said Mr Flinn. "Four eyes arebetter than two; and, as I see that the skipper means to give them anoverhaul, it is as well that we should learn all we can about thembeforehand."
We accordingly shinned up the ratlines together, and were sooncomfortably settled on the fore-topsail-yard. We remained there untilthe brief twilight had so far faded that it was impossible to make outmore than the general outline of the ships, and then we descended andmade our report.
The said report amounted to this. The brigantine, we had quite made upour minds, was either a privateer or a pirate, but of wha
t nationality,if the former, we were not quite clear, and the ship we took to be aSpaniard of about five hundred tons. The water was breaking soconfusedly among and over the reefs ahead of us that we felt verydoubtful whether the boats--much less the ship--could find a waythrough; but we were of opinion that there was a narrow belt of clearwater close to the shore.
Mr Martin, the master, had meanwhile brought up the chart and spread itopen upon the capstan-head; but the moment that we looked at it andcompared it with what we saw around us, it became evident that it was byno means to be relied upon, so far at least as this particular spot wasconcerned.
"'Bout ship at once, if you please, Mr Flinn," said the skipper."We'll go no nearer--on _this_ side at all events--I don't half likebeing so close as we are now. We'll furl the topgallant-sails and takedown a reef in the topsails also."
It was done. The reefs now lay astern of us, Key Grande bore well uponour starboard quarter, and El Roque was ahead of us, a trifle upon ourweather bow.
"Keep her away a point, quarter-master, and give that island ahead awide berth," said the skipper.
"Ay, ay, sir," answered Gimbals; and I thought his voice sounded strangeand melancholy in the deepening gloom.
We were now standing to the northward, or about N. by W., under single-reefed topsails, and were going about nine knots, the spot we were inbeing sheltered by the islands and shoals to windward, and the waterconsequently smooth. In about half an hour's time, however, the frigatepassed out from under the lee of El Roque, and we were once more tearingand thrashing through the short head-sea. The sky to leeward, stillaglow with the fading splendour which marked the path of the departedsun, strongly tinged the water in its wake with tints of the purestamber and ruby, against which the wave-crests leaped up black as ink,while the ocean everywhere else showed a dark indigo hue. Overhead, inthe darkening ether, the stars were twinkling out one by one; while awayto windward the sky, already nearly as dark as it would be that night,was thickly powdered with a million glittering points.
We continued upon the starboard tack until two bells in the first watch,when, the skipper being of opinion that we had made sufficient offing togo to windward of everything, we tacked ship and stood to the southwardand eastward again. It was by this time quite dark, although starlight;and we knew that if the strangers inside had kept a watch upon us, theywould have seen us still standing off the land as long as it waspossible to see anything at all; and, this being the case, we hoped theywould jump to the conclusion that they had seen the last of us, for thatnight at least, and think no more about us.
By six bells we were dead to windward of the eastern end of El Roque,and about ten miles from it, when we edged away a couple of points, and,getting a good pull upon the weather-braces, went rolling and plungingdown past the weather side of Key Grande, giving the land a wide berthhowever, and stationing extra lookouts--the keenest-eyed men in theship--to watch for any signs of broken water.
Two hours after bearing up, we were off the south-east angle of theisland, when we wore ship, and, shortening sail to close-reefedtopsails, jib, and spanker, dodged quietly in toward the land, under thelee of which we soon found ourselves. A couple of leadsmen were sentinto the chains, and the lead kept constantly going, but we found therewas plenty of water, so we stood on until we got into eight fathoms,when, being completely sheltered, we let go the anchor, and stowed ourcanvas.
It was by this time about two o'clock a.m. The boats had been preparedlong before, and nothing now remained but to lower away, unhook, and beoff.
As soon as the sails were furled, Captain Annesley went below to hiscabin, and immediately sent for Mr Flinn, Mr Vining, Mr Martin, andme. We trundled down one after the other, and found our chief bendinganxiously over a chart which was lying spread open upon the cabin-table.
"Pray be seated, gentlemen," said he; "draw your chairs up to the table,and you will all be able to follow me upon the chart. Here is where weare,"--making a pencil dot on the chart to indicate the position of thefrigate--"and here, as nearly as possible, is where the ship andbrigantine are lying,"--a cross serving to indicate their position."Now I feel myself to be in a position of some little difficulty. Ihave very little doubt in my own mind that these two ships belong to ourenemies, but I am not _sure_ of it; and to attack a vessel belonging toa friendly power would be a most deplorable accident. On the otherhand, if we wait until daylight before doing anything, we run the riskof losing a good many of our men; for I should not feel justified intaking the frigate into the midst of so many unknown dangers, and anattack with the boats in broad daylight would give them ample time tomake all their preparations for giving us a hot reception. I aminclined to think that the crews of those two craft will have noexpectation of hearing from us to-night; and I have therefore determinedto send in the boats to reconnoitre. You, Mr Flinn, will have chargeof the expedition, and will take the launch. Mr Vining will take thefirst cutter, and Mr Martin the second, while Mr Chester, in the gig,must go ahead and endeavour to steal alongside the strange craft withoutgiving the alarm, find out their nationality--while you lie off at adistance--and return to you with his report. If they are friends, thereis no harm done; and if they are enemies, do as you think best."
A few words of advice followed, and we then returned to the deck. Theboats were lowered, a twelve-pound carronade placed in the bows of thelaunch, the fighting-crews paraded, and their weapons examined to seethat everything was in fighting order, and then we trundled down overthe side and shoved off.
Under the Meteor Flag: Log of a Midshipman during the French Revolutionary War Page 24
