CHAPTER XV
_Chased by a Frigate_
Three days after the sinking of the Juno, the Mellish, which hadescaped in the dark without pursuit from the fleet, after witnessingthe successful termination of the action between the two sloops of war,was heading about northwest-by-west for Massachusetts Bay and Boston,with single reefs in her topsails and close hauled on the starboardtack. Seymour's orders had left him sufficient discretion as to hisdestination, but Boston being the nearest harbor held by the Americans,he had deemed it best to try to make that port rather than incurfurther risk of recapture by making the longer voyage to Philadelphia.
The weather had turned cloudy and cold; there was a decided touch ofwinter in the air. The men were muffled up in their pea-jackets, andthe little squad of prisoners, tramping up and down, taking exerciseand air under a strong guard, looked decidedly uncomfortable, not tosay disgusted, with the situation.
It had been a matter of some difficulty to disarm the prisoners,especially the soldiers, and to feed and properly exercise them; butthe end had been successfully arrived at through the prudence andability of Seymour, who was well aided by Talbot and Wilton, and whoprofited much by many valuable suggestions born of the long experienceof the old boatswain.
On this particular afternoon, about ten days before Christmas, theyoung captain, now confident of carrying his prize into the harbor,felt very much relieved and elated by his apparent command of thesituation. He knew what a godsend the ship's cargo, which he andTalbot had ascertained to be even more valuable than had beenrepresented, would be to the American army. It might be said withoutexaggeration, that the success of the great cause depended upon thefortune of that one little ship under his command. Talbot had properlyclassified and inventoried the cargo according to orders, and wasprepared to make immediate distribution of it upon their arrival inport. Both of the young men were as happy as larks, and even thethought of their captured friends did not disquiet them as it mightunder less fortunate circumstances, for among the captives on theMellish was a Colonel Seaton of the Highlanders, whom they trusted tobe able to exchange for Colonel Wilton, and they did not doubt in thatcase that Katharine would return with her father.
While indulging themselves in these rosy dreams, natural to young menin the elation of spirit consequent upon the events of their short andexciting cruise,--the capture and successful escape of the transport,the apparent assurance of bringing her in, and the daring and brilliantnight-action which they had witnessed,--they had neither of themventured to touch upon the subject uppermost in each heart,--the loveeach bore for Katharine,--and the subject still remained a sealed bookbetween them. The cruise was not yet over, however, and fate had instore for them several more exciting occurrences to be faced. Seymour,often accompanied by Talbot, and Wilton, always accompanied by Bentley,kept watch and watch on the brief cruise of the transport. On theafternoon of the third day, about three bells in the afternoon watch,or half after one o'clock, Seymour, whose watch below it was, wascalled from the cabin by old Bentley, who informed him that asuspicious sail had been seen hull down to the northeast, and Wiltonhad desired that his commanding officer be informed of it. Seizing aglass and springing to his feet, he hastened on deck.
"Well, Mr. Wilton," he said to that young officer, proud of hisresponsibilities, "you keep a good lookout. Where away is the sailreported?"
"Broad off the weather bow, sir, due north of us. You can't see herfrom the deck yet," replied Wilton, flushing with pride at thecompliment.
Seymour sprang into the main rigging, and rapidly ascended to thecrosstrees, glass in hand. There he speedily made out thetopgallantsails of a large ship, having the wind on the quarterapparently, and slowly coming into view. He subjected her to a longand careful scrutiny, during which the heads of her topsails rose,confirming his first idea that she was a ship-of-war, and if so,without doubt, one of the enemy. She was coming down steadily; and ifthe two vessels continued on their present courses they would pass eachother within gun-shot distance in a few hours, a thing not to bepermitted under any circumstances, if it could be avoided. Hecontinued his inspection a moment longer, and then closing the glass,descended to the deck with all speed by sliding down the back-stay.
"Forward, there!" he shouted. "Call the other watch, and be quickabout it! Philip, step below and ask Mr. Talbot to come on deck atonce. Bentley, that seems to be a frigate or a heavy sloop going free;she will be down on us in a few hours if we don't change our course.Take a look at her, man," he said, handing him the glass, "and let meknow what you think of her."
While the men were coming on deck, Bentley leaped into the mizzenrigging and ran up the shrouds with an agility surprising in one of hisgigantic figure and advanced age. After a rapid survey he came downswiftly. "It's an English frigate, and not a doubt of it, sir, andrising very fast."
"I thought so. Man the weather braces! Up with the helm! Bear a handnow, my hearties! Now, then, all together! Brace in!" He himself seta good example to the short crew, who hastened to obey his rapidcommands, by assisting the two seamen stationed aft to brail in thespanker, in which labor he was speedily joined by Talbot, who had comeon deck. Young Wilton and Bentley lent the same assistance forward,and in an astonishingly brief time, considering her small crew, theMellish, like the stranger, was going free with the wind on herquarter, her best point of sailing, her course now making a wide obtuseangle with that of the approaching ship.
"Now, then, men, lay aloft, and shake the reefs out of the topsails.Stand by to loose the fore and main topgallantsails as well."
"Why, what's wrong, Seymour?" said Talbot, in surprise. "I ratherexpected we should be in Massachusetts Bay this evening, and here weare, heading south again. Isn't that Cape Cod,--that blue haze yonder?Why are we leaving it? What's the matter?"
"Take the glass, man; there, aft on the starboard quarter, a sail! Youshould be able to see her from the deck now. Can you make her out?"
"Yes, by heaven, it's a ship, and a large ship too! What is it, thinkyou, Seymour?"
"An English ship, of course, a frigate; we have no ships like that inthese waters, or in our navy, either--more's the pity."
"Whew! This looks bad for us."
"Well, we 're not caught yet by a long sight, Talbot. A good manyleagues will have to be sailed before we are overhauled, and there 'smany a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip, you know; that old stale maximis truer on the sea than any place else, and truer in a chase, too; athousand things may help us or hinder her. See, we are going betternow that the reefs are out and the topgallantsails set. But it's afearful strain on our spars. They look new--pray God they be goodones," he continued, gazing over the side at the masses of green watertossed aside from the bows and sweeping aft under the counter in greatswirls.
The spars and rigging of the Mellish were indeed fearfully tested, themasts buckling and bending like a strained bow. The wind wasfreshening every moment, and there was the promise of a gale in thelowering sky of the gray afternoon. The ship felt the increasedpressure from the additional sail which had been made, and her speedhad materially increased, though she rolled and pitched frightfully,wallowing through the water and smashing into the waves with her broad,fat bows, and making rather heavy weather of it. In spite of all this,however, the chase gained slowly upon them, until she was now visibleto the naked eye from the decks of the Mellish. Seymour, full ofanxiety, tried every expedient that his thorough seamanship and longexperience could dictate to accelerate the speed of his ship,--rather asluggish vessel at best, and now, heavily laden, slower than ever. Thestream anchors were cut away, and then one of the bowers also; all theboats, save one, the smallest, were scuttled and cast adrift; purchaseswere got on all the sheets and halliards, and the sails hauled flat asboards, and kept well wetted down; some of the water tanks were pumpedout, to alter the trim and lighten her; the bulwarks and rails partlycut away, and, as a final resort, the maintopmast studdingsail was set,but the boom broke at t
he iron and the whole thing went adrift in a fewmoments. Talbot, anxious to do something, suggested the novelexpedient of breaking out a field-piece from the fore hold and mountingit on the quarter-deck to use as a stern-chaser. This had been done,but the frigate was yet too far away for it to be of any service.
In spite of all these efforts, they were being overhauled slowly, butSeymour still held on and did not despair. There was one chance ofescape. Right before them, not a half league away, lay a long shoalknown as George's Shoal, extending several leagues across the path ofthe two ships; through the middle of this dangerous shoal there existeda channel, narrow and tortuous, but still practicable for ships of acertain size. He was familiar with its windings, as was Bentley, asthey both had examined it carefully in the previous summer with a viewto just such a contingency as now occurred. The Mellish was a largeand clumsy ship, heavily laden, and drawing much water, but he feltconfident that he could take her through the pass. At any rate theattempt was worth making, and if he did fail, it would be better towreck her, he thought, than allow her to be recaptured. The Englishcaptain either knew or did not know of the shoal and the channel. Ifhe knew it, he would have to make a long detour, for in no case wouldthe depth of water in the pass permit a heavy ship as was the pursuingvessel to follow them; and, aided by the darkness rapidly closing down,the Mellish would be enabled to escape.
If the English captain were a new man on the station, and unacquaintedwith the existence of the shoal, as was most likely--well, then he wasapt to lose his ship and all on board of her, if he chased too far andtoo hard. The problem resolved itself into this: if the Mellish couldmaintain her distance from the pursuer until it was necessary to comeby the wind for a short tack, and still have sufficient space and timeleft to enable her to run up to the mouth of the channel without beingsunk, or forced to strike by the batteries of the frigate, they mightescape; if not--God help them all! thought Seymour, desperately, for inthat event he resolved to run the vessel on the rocky edge of the shoalat the pass mouth and sink her.
They were rapidly drawing down upon the shoal at the point from whichthey must come by the wind, on the starboard tack. Some far-awaylights on Cape Cod had just been lighted, which enabled Seymour to gethis bearing exactly. He had talked the situation over quietly withBentley, and they had not yet lost hope of escaping. The men hadworked hard and faithfully, carrying out the various orders andlightening ship, and now, having done all, some few were lying aboutthe deck resting, while the remainder hung over the rails gazing attheir pursuer. One of the men, the sea philosopher Thompson, of theRanger's crew, finally went aft to the quarter-deck to old Bentley, whowas privileged to stand there under the circumstances, and asked if hemight have a look through the glass for a moment at the frigate.
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