by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER IV.
THE PRIVATEER'S RENDEZVOUS.
When morning broke the vessel that the privateer had been watching inthe night was seen to be three miles directly ahead. She was a largevessel, and for some time opinions differed as to whether she was afrigate or an Indiaman; but when it became quite light a patch or twoin the canvas showed that she could not be a man-of-war, and all sailwas at once crowded on to the privateer. The other ship at once shookout more canvas, but half an hour sufficed to show that the privateerwas much the faster vessel. The stranger took in the extra canvas shehad set, and continued her course as if altogether regardless of theprivateer.
"They have made up their minds to fight," Jacques said to Ralph. "Nowhe finds that he can't outsail us he has got on to easy workingcanvas. She is a big ship, and I expect carries heavier metal than wedo. It may be that she has troops on board."
The brig kept eating out to windward until she gained a position abouta mile upon the starboard quarter of the Indiaman, then the longpivot-gun was leveled and the first shot fired. The crew had by thistime all taken their places by the guns, and Ralph and the other boysbrought up powder and shot from the magazine. It was not without astruggle that Ralph brought himself to do this; but he saw that arefusal would probably cost him his life, and as some one else wouldbring up the cartridges in his place his refusal would not benefit hiscountrymen.
He had just come on deck when the gun was fired, and saw the waterthrown up just under the ship's stern, and the shot was dancing awayto leeward. The next shot struck the merchantman on the quarter. Amoment later the vessel was brought up into the wind and a broadsideof eight guns fired. Two of them struck the hull of the privateer,another wounded the mainmast, while the rest cut holes through thesails and struck the water a quarter of a mile to windward. With anoath the captain of the privateer brought his vessel up into the wind,and then payed off on the other tack.
The merchantman carried much heavier metal than he had given hercredit for. As she came round too, some redcoats were seen on herdeck. Apparently well satisfied with the display she had made of herstrength, the ship bore off again and went quietly, on her way, whilethe privateer was hove to and preventer stays put to the mainmast.Ralph remained below for some time; he heard the men savagely cursing,and thought it was best for him not to attract attention at present.The sails were lowered and the brig drifted quietly all day; but aboutten o'clock Ralph heard a creaking of blocks, and knew that the sailshad been hoisted again. Half an hour later the watch below was orderedto come quietly on deck. Ralph went up with the rest.
For a quarter of an hour he could see nothing, and then he made out adark mass a few hundred yards to leeward; immediately afterward thehelm was put up, and the brig run down toward the stranger. Twominutes later there was a sharp hail, followed instantly by shouts andthe sound of feet; but before the crew could gain the deck and preparefor defence the brig was alongside, and a moment later her crew sprangupon the decks of the stranger. A few blows were given; but theresistance offered was slight, and in a very short time the crew weredisarmed or driven below, and the vessel in the possession of theprivateer. She proved to be a small bark on her way out to theMediterranean. She carried only twenty hands and four small guns, andwas laden with hardware.
The privateer's crew at once set to work upon her. At first Ralphcould not understand what they were about, but he was not long indiscovering. The wedges round the mainmast were knocked out, thetopmast lowered to the deck, the shrouds and stays slacked off, andthen the mast was lifted and carried on board the brig. As soon asthis was done, the second mate of the brig with eight sailors went onboard as a prize crew. Everything was made taut and trim for them bythe brig's crew. The English prisoners had already been disarmed andbattened down in the hold, and the prize crew then hoisted sail andprepared to take her under mizzen and foremast only to a French port.This, if she had luck, she would reach in safety, but if on the wayshe fell in with a British privateer or cruiser she would of coursefall an easy prey.
No sooner was the bark on her way than the privateersmen set to workto lift out their injured mainmast, and to replace it with that theyhad brought on board from the bark. When daylight broke anxiousglances were cast round the horizon; but although a few distant sailswere seen, none of these were following a course that would bring themnear the brig, and the latter without sail and with her foremast alonestanding would not be likely to be noticed. Ralph could not helpadmiring the energy with which the crew worked. Ordinarily they wereby no means a smart crew, and did their work in a slow and slovenlymanner; but each man now felt the importance of getting everythinginto order before an enemy appeared, and so well did they work that bymidday the new mast was in its place, and before sunset the topmastwith all its yards and gear was up and the sails ready for hoisting.
Ralph had been in a state of anxiety in the early part of the nightlest he should be sent on board the bark and carried as a prisoner toFrance. But no one seemed to give a thought to him, and it was notuntil far on in the morning that the captain happened to notice himhard at work with the rest.
"Ah, are you there?" he said. "If I had thought of it I should havesent you into Best in the bark."
Ralph did not understand the words but he guessed at the meaning, andsaid, smiling, "I am quite content to remain where I am."
"Tell him, Jacques Clery, that I have noticed that he works willingly,and as long as he behaves well he shall have the same treatment as ifhe belonged really to the crew; but warn him that if he is caught atany time making a signal, or doing anything to warn a vessel we may beapproaching, his brains will be blown out at once."
Jacques translated the warning.
"That's all right," Ralph said. "Of course I should expect nothingelse."
As soon as the repairs were completed the sails were hoisted and thebrig proceeded on her way. In the days that followed it seemed toRalph that the tactics of the privateer had changed, and that therewas no longer any idea of making prizes. A sharp lookout was indeedkept for any English cruisers, but no attention was paid to any sailin the distance as soon as it was determined that these were not shipsof war. Four days later, instead of there being as before five or sixsail in sight at one point or other of the horizon, the sea wasabsolutely deserted. He remarked upon this to his friend Jacques. Thelatter laughed.
"We are out of their course now, my lad. We passed the latitude ofCape St. Vincent yesterday evening, and we are now pretty well off thecoast of Africa. Nine out of ten of the ships we have seen were eitherbound to the Mediterranean or on their way home. Now that we havepassed the mouth of the strait we shall not run across many sail."
"Where are we going to, then?" Ralph said.
"Well, I don't think there is any harm in telling you now, that we arebound south, but how far is more than I know. I expect first we shallgo west and try and pick up some prizes among the islands, and afterthat perhaps go round the cape and lie in wait for Indiamen on theirway home. You see, one of those ships is worth a dozen of theseMediterranean traders, and one is not bothered down there as one isbetween the strait and the channel with your cruisers and privateers;they swarm so there that one can hardly fire a gun without bringingthem down on us. I don't suppose the captain would have meddled withthat Indiaman if it hadn't been that he thought the owners would bepleased by a prize being sent in so soon. As to the bark, we wereobliged to take her to get a new mast. It would never have done tohave started on a long cruise with a badly-injured spar."
"But I should think it would be difficult to send home prizes from theWest Indies," Ralph said.
"Well, you see, although you have taken most of our islands, there arestill two or three ports we can take prizes into. Beside, we can takethe best goods out, and if the ship isn't worth the risk of sending toFrance burn her. Then, too, one can spare hands for prizes betterthere; because one can always ship a few fresh hands--Spaniards,Mulattos, or blacks--in their place."
"But you can't do that in th
e case of the Indiamen."
"No; but a single laden Indiaman is enough to pay us well for all ourtrouble. We can put a crew of thirty hands on board her and send herhome. There is little risk of a recapture till we get near France. Wehave only to hoist the English flag if we do happen to meet anything."
Ralph was glad to hear that the ship was bound for the West Indies, ashe thought opportunities for escape would be likely to presentthemselves among the islands. Madeira was sighted three days later,and after running south for another four or five hundred miles, thebrig bore away for the west. By dint of getting Jacques Clery totranslate sentences into French, and of hearing nothing but thatlanguage spoken round him, Ralph had by this time begun to makeconsiderable progress in the language. Not only was he anxious tolearn it for the sake of passing away the time and making himselfunderstood, but his efforts were greatly stimulated by the fact thatif any of the crew addressed him in French a cuff on the head wasgenerally the penalty of a failure to comprehend him. The consequencewas that when six weeks after sailing the cry of land was shouted bythe lookout in the tops, Ralph was able to understand almosteverything that was said, and to reply in French with some fluency. Asthe brig sailed along the wooded shores of the first island they fellin with, Ralph was leaning against the bulwarks watching with deepinterest the objects they were passing.
"I can guess what you are thinking about," Jacques Clery said, takinghis place quietly by his side. "I have been through it all myself andI can guess your feelings. You are thinking how you can escape. Now,you take my advice and don't you hurry about it. You are doing wellwhere you are. Now you begin to talk French and understand orders it'sa good deal easier for you than it was, and the men are beginning toregard you as one of themselves; but you may be sure that you will bewatched for a time. You see, they daren't let you go. If you were toget to one of the English ports here we should have five or six ofyour men-of-war after us in no time.
"If it was not for that I don't suppose the captain would object toput you ashore. He has evidently taken a fancy to you, and is pleasedwith the way in which you have taken things and with your smartnessand willingness. Beside, I don't think he considers you altogether asa prisoner. Running you down in the way we did in the channel wasn'tlike capturing you in a prize, and I think if the captain could seehis way to letting you go without risk to himself he would do it. Ashe can't do that he will have a sharp watch kept on you, and I adviseyou not to be in any hurry to try to escape. You must remember if youwere caught trying it they would shoot you to a certainty."
"I should be in no hurry at all, Jacques, if it were not that the brigis hunting for English vessels. You know what you would feel yourselfif you were on board a ship that was capturing French craft."
"Yes, that is hard, no doubt," Jacques agreed; "and I don't say to youdon't escape when you get a chance, I only say wait until the chanceis a good one. Just at present we are not specially on the lookout forprizes. We are going to join two other vessels belonging to the sameowners. They have been out here some time and have got a snughiding-place somewhere, though I don't think any one on board exceptthe captain knows where."
For three weeks the brig cruised among the islands. They had picked upno prizes in that time, as the captain did not wish to commenceoperations until he had joined his consorts and obtained informationfrom them as to the British men-of-war on the station. They hadoverhauled one or two native craft, purchased fish and fruit, andcautiously asked questions as to the cruisers. The answers were notsatisfactory. They learned that owing to the numbers of vessels thathad been captured by the privateers a very vigilant lookout was beingkept; that two or three French craft that had been captured by thecruisers had been bought into the service, and were constantly insearch of the headquarters of the privateers. This was bad news; foralthough the brig with her great spread of canvas could in light windsrun away from any of the ships of war, it was by no means certain shewould be able to do so from the converted privateers.
One morning two vessels--a schooner and a brig--were seen coming rounda headland. The captain and officers examined them with theirtelescopes, and a flag was run up to the masthead. Almost immediatelytwo answering flags were hoisted by the strangers, and an exclamationof satisfaction broke from the captain:
"We are in luck," he said. "If we had not run across them we mighthave had to search for the rendezvous. I have got the spot marked downon the chart, but they told me before sailing that they understood itwas very difficult to find the entrance, and we might pass by within ahundred yards without noticing it."
In half an hour the ships closed up together, and the captains of theother crafts came on board in their boats. A hearty greeting wasexchanged between them and the captain of La Belle Marie, and thethree then descended to the cabin. After a time they reappeared, andthe visitors returned to their respective ships. Five minutes laterthe schooner got under way, and La Belle Marie followed her, leavingthe other brig to continue her cruise alone. Toward evening theschooner ran in toward a precipitous cliff, the brig keeping close inher wake. Ralph had no doubt that they were now close to the spot theprivateers used as their rendezvous, but he could detect no openinginto the cliff ahead, and it looked as if the schooner was leading theway to destruction. Not until within a cable's length of the shorecould any opening be discovered by the keenest eye. Then when theschooner was within her own length of the cliff her helm was putabout. She came round, and in a moment later disappeared. Anexclamation of surprise broke from all on board the brig, for they nowsaw that instead of the cliff stretching in an unbroken line itprojected out at one point, and the precipitous headway concealed anextremely narrow passage behind it.
A moment later the brig imitated the maneuver of the schooner andpassed in between two lofty cliffs, so close that there were but a fewyards to spare on either side of her. Fifty yards ahead the channelmade a sharp turn again, and they entered a basin of tranquil waterthree or four hundred yards across. At the further end the shoresloped gradually up, and here several large storehouses had beenerected, and ways laid down for the convenience of hauling up andrepairing the vessels.
"What do you think of that, youngster?" Jacques said exultantly. "Agrand hiding-place is it not?"
"It is indeed," Ralph replied. "Why, they might cruise outside forweeks looking for the place and they wouldn't find it, unless a boathappened to row along at the foot of the cliffs."
As soon as the anchor was down the crew were at once given leave to goashore, and ramble about to stretch their legs after their two months'confinement on board. Ralph was proceeding to take his place in one ofthe boats when the captain's eye fell upon him.
"Come below with me, young fellow," he said in French. "Jacques Clery,I shall want you too."
"I do not think there is much need of interpreting, captain," thesailor said, as he followed the others into the cabin. "The lad canget on very fairly in French now, and will certainly understand thesense of anything you may say to him."
"Look here, my lad," the captain began, "you have been fairly treatedsince you came on board this brig."
"I have been very kindly treated," Ralph said. "I have nothingwhatever to complain of."
"And we saved your life did we not?"
"Yes, sir, after first nearly taking it," Ralph said with a smile.
"Ah, that was just as much your fault as ours. Little fish ought toget out of the way of great ones, and I don't consider we were in anyway to blame in that matter. Still there is the fact in the firstplace we saved your life, and in the second we treated you kindly."
"I acknowledge that, sir," Ralph said earnestly; "and I feel verygrateful. You might have sent me with the crew of that bark to prisonhad you chosen, and I am thankful to you that you kept me on board andhave treated me as one of the crew."
"Now, what I have to say to you is this lad: I know that you arecomfortable enough on board, and I have noticed that Jacques here hastaken you specially under his wing. You work willingly and well andhave
the makings of a first-class seaman in you; still I canunderstand that you would much rather be with your own people, andwould be rather aiding them in capturing us than in aiding us tocapture them. Consequently you will if you see an opportunity probablytry to escape. I shall take as good care as I can to prevent you fromdoing so, and shall shoot you without hesitation if I catch you at it.Still you may escape, and I cannot run the risk of having this placediscovered and our trade knocked on the head. I therefore offer you analternative. You will either give me your solemn oath not in any caseto reveal the existence of this place, or I will put you on shore incharge of the party who remain here, and you will stop with them aprisoner till we sail away from this cruising ground, which may be inthree months or may be in a year. What do you say? Don't answer mehastily, and do not take the oath unless you are convinced you cankeep it however great the temptation held out to you to betray us."
Ralph needed but a minute to consider the proposal. The oath did notbind him in any way to abstain from making an attempt to escape, butsimply to guard the secret of the privateer rendezvous. If he remainedhere on shore he would have no chance whatever of escape, and mightmoreover meet with very rough treatment from those left in charge ofhim. "I am quite ready to take the oath not to reveal the secret ofthis place, captain," he said. "I do not think that in any case afterhaving been so kindly treated by you I should have been inclined tobetray you. However as you offer me the alternative I am ready to takeany oath you like of silence, and that oath I will assuredly keepwhatever pressure may be laid upon me, it being understood of coursethat the oath in no way prevents my taking any opportunity that maypresent itself of making my escape."
"That is quite understood," the captain said. "That is a mere matterof business. You try to escape if you can; I shoot you if I catch youat it. But I do not think you are likely to succeed. But in justice tomy employers and friends I should not be justified in running eventhat slight risk unless convinced that if you succeed you will keepsilence as to this. Now, what oath will you take?"
"No oath can be more binding to me than my promise, sir; but at thesame time I swear upon my word of honor that I will never give anyinformation or hint that will lead any one to the discovery of thisharbor."
"That will do," the captain said. "I have liked your face from themoment you came on board, and feel that I can trust your word."
"I am sure you can do that, captain," Jacques put in; "from what Ihave seen of the boy I am certain he will keep the promise he hasmade."
"Very well then," the captain said; "that is settled. You can go onshore in the next boat, and I shall advise you to take theopportunity, for I warn you that you will not get the chance oframbling on shore again until we return here next time. You need notcome on board before to-morrow morning."
Half an hour later Ralph went ashore with the last batch of sailors.He soon found that a general license had been granted. A barrel of rumand several casks of wine had been broached, and the men wereevidently bent upon making up for the spell of severe discipline thatthey had lately gone through.
Jacques Clery had gone ashore in the same boat with Ralph.
"What are you going to do, lad?"
"I am going for a walk," Ralph said. "In the first place everything isnew to me and I want to see the vegetation; and in the second place Ican see that in a very short time most of the hands will be drunk, andI dare say quarrelsome, and I don't want either to drink or quarrel. Ithink I am better away from them."
"You are right boy, and I don't care if I go too. We will take a drinkof wine before we start and fill up our pockets with those biscuits. Iwill get the storekeeper to give us a bottle of wine to take with us,and then we shall be set up for the day. This is my first voyage inthese parts; but I have heard from others of their doings, and don'tcare about getting a stab with a knife in a drunken brawl. I can do myshare of fighting when fighting has got to be done, but I do not carefor rows of this sort. Still I know the men look forward to what youcall a spree on shore, and the captain might find it difficult topreserve discipline if he did not let them have their flingoccasionally."
Ralph and the sailor each took a biscuit and a draught of wine, andsoon afterward started on their ramble provided with food as arranged.Both were delighted with the luxuriant vegetation, and wandered forhours through the woods admiring the flowers and fruits, abstaining,however, from tasting the latter, as for aught they knew some of thespecies might be poisonous. Presently, however, they came upon somebananas. Neither of them had ever seen this fruit before, but Ralphhad read descriptions of it in books, Jacques had heard of it fromsailors who had visited the West Indies before. They therefore cutsome bunches. "Now we will bring ourselves to an anchor and dine. Timemust be getting on, and my appetite tells me that it must have struckeight bells." Jacques sat down on the ground, and was about to throwhimself full length when Ralph observed a movement among the deadleaves; an instant later the head of a snake was raised threateninglywithin striking distance of Jacques Clery's neck as he sank backward.Ralph gave a short cry--too late, however, to arrest the sailor'smovements--and at the same moment sprang forward and came down withboth feet upon the snake.
"What on earth are you doing?" Jacques asked as he scrambled to hisfeet. No answer was made to his question, but he saw at once thatRalph was stamping upon the writhing folds of a snake. In a minute themotion ceased.
"That was a close shave, Jacques," Ralph said smiling, though his facewas pale with the sudden excitement. "I did not see it until too lateto give you warning. It was just the fraction of a second, and even asI jumped I thought he would strike your neck before my boot came onhim."
"You saved my life, lad," the other said huskily, trembling from headto foot, as he saw how narrowly indeed he had escaped from death. "Ihave been in some hard fights in my time, but I don't know that ever Ifelt as I feel now. I feel cold from head to foot, and I believe thata child could knock me down. Give me your hand, lad. It was splendidlydone. If you had stopped for half a moment to think I should have beena dead man. Good heavens! what an escape I had."
"I am glad to have been of service for once. You have been so kind tome since I came aboard the brig that it is fair that I should do you agood turn for once. I am not surprised you are shaken, for I feel somyself. We had better both have a drink of wine, and then we can seeabout our meal."
"No more lying down on the ground for me," the sailor said. "Once isenough of such a thing as that. However, hand me the bottle. I shallfeel better after that."
Ralph looked about and presently discovered an open space, free fromfallen leaves or any other shelter for a lurking snake, and persuadedJacques to sit down and eat his biscuit and bananas in comfort. Thesailor did so, but the manner in which his glances kept wanderinground him in search of snakes showed that he had not yet recovered hisequanimity. When they had finished their meal Ralph proposed that theyshould climb up to the highest point of ground they could find, andtake a view over the island. Two hours' walking took them to the topof a lofty hill. From the summit they were enabled to obtain a distantview. The island was, they judged, some seven or eight miles across,and fully twice that length. Several small islands lay within a fewmiles distant, and high land rose twenty miles off.
"This must be a large island," Ralph said. "Do you know where we are,Jacques?"
"I have no idea whatever," the sailor said; "and I don't suppose anyone on board, except the officers, has, any more than me. The chartsare all in the captain's cabin; and I know no more of the geography ofthese islands than I do of the South Seas, and that's nothing. It'squite right to keep it dark; because, though I don't suppose manyfellows on board any of the three craft would split upon us if he werecaptured, because, you see, we each have a share in the profits of thevoyage as well as our regular pay, and, of course, we should lose thatif those storehouses, which are pretty well choked up with goods, wereto get taken, there's never any saying what some mean scamp might doif he were offered a handsome reward. So the few
er as knows the secretthe better."
"Look Jacques! Look at that full-rigged ship that has just come outfrom behind that island. She looks to me like a frigate."
"And that she is," the sailor replied. "Carries forty guns, I shouldsay, by her size. English, no doubt. Well, we had better go downagain, lad. I must report to the captain that this craft is cruisingin these waters. It will be dark before we are back, and I don't wantto be in the woods after dark; there's no saying what one might treadon. I thought that we would stretch ourselves out under the trees forto-night and go aboard in the morning, but I feel different now. Blessyou, I should never close an eye. So I propose as we goes down so asnot to be noticed by them chaps up at the store, and then gets hold ofa boat and rows on board quiet."
"I am quite willing to do that Jacques. I don't think I should getmuch sleep either in the woods."
"No, I guess not, lad. Come along; the sun is halfway down already,and I would not be left in these woods after dark, not for six months'pay. The thought of that snake makes me crawl all over. Who would havethought now, when I lugged you in over the bowsprit of La Belle Mariethat night in the channel, that you were going to save my life someday. Well, I don't suppose, lad, I shall ever get quits with you, butif there is a chance you can count upon me. You come to me any nightand say I am going to escape, Jacques, and I will help you to do it,even if they riddle me with bullets five minutes afterward."
"I shall never ask that of you, Jacques," Ralph said warmly. "Iconsider we are quits now, though you may not. Indeed, I can tell youthat I don't consider that two months of kindness are wiped out byjust taking a jump on to the back of a snake."
There were loud sounds of shouting, singing, and quarreling as theypassed near the great fires that were blazing near the storehouse.They reached the waterside without notice, and taking a boat rowed offto the brig. The captain looked over the side:
"Who is that?"
"Jacques Clery and the English lad, captain."
"You got tired of the noise on shore, I suppose?" the captain said.
"Not exactly that, captain, for we have not been near the others atall. We took a long walk through the woods up to the top of the hillin the middle of the island and we came back for two reasons. Thefirst because I have been so badly scared by a snake, who would havebit me had not this young fellow leaped on to its back just as he wasabout to strike me in the neck, that I would not have slept on theground for anything; and, in the second place, we came to tell youthat from the top of the hill we saw a large frigate--English, Ishould say, from the cut of her sails--five or six miles off on theother side of the island, and I thought you ought to know about her atonce."
"Thank you, Jacques; that is important. I was going to sail in themorning, but we must not stir as long as she is in the neighborhood.So this young fellow saved your life, did he?"
"That he did, captain; and it was the quickest thing you ever saw. Iwas just lying down at full length when he caught sight of the snake.There was no time to stop me; no time even to cry out. He just jumpedon a sudden and came down on the brute as it was on the point ofstriking. Had he stopped for one quarter of a second I should havebeen a dead man hours ago."
"That was a near escape indeed, Jacques. Are they pretty quiet thereon shore? I heard them shouting several times."
"They seem quarreling a bit, captain; but they are sure to do thatwith all that liquor on hand."
"They won't come to much harm," the captain said. "I gave thestrictest orders that all weapons should be left behind before theylanded, and that any man carrying even a knife would have his leavestopped during the rest of the cruise. Beside, the first mate is thereto look after them. I will go ashore myself at daybreak and take alook round from the top of that hill. If that frigate is stillcruising about near the island it must be because they have got somesort of an idea of the whereabouts of our hiding place. We must waittill she moves away. It won't do to risk anything."
Upon the following morning the captain and Jacques, accompanied byRalph, landed. They passed close by the storehouse, and saw the menstill asleep round the extinguished fires. The captain called out thestorekeeper:
"You can serve out one pannikin of wine to each man," he said, "but nomore. They will want that to pull them together. Tell the first mateto get them on board as soon as possible, and set them to work to tidyup the ship and get everything ready for setting sail at a moment'snotice. Tell him an English frigate is reported as close to theisland. I am going up to look after her."
Two hours' steady walking took them to the top of the hill. There wereno signs of any vessel as far as they could see. The captain, who hadbrought his glass with him, carefully examined every island in sight.Presently he uttered an exclamation:
"There are three boats rowing together close under the cliffs there,"he said, pointing to the nearest island. "No doubt the frigate islying behind it. They must be searching for some concealed harbor likeours. _Peste!_ this is awkward. What do you think, Jacques?"
"I should say you were right in what you said last night, captain.They must have got an idea that our rendezvous is somewherehereabouts, though they don't know for certain where, and they aresearching all the island round. If they come along here like that weshall be caught in a trap. A vessel might sail close by withoutsuspecting there was an entrance here, however hard they might belooking for it; but if they send boats rowing along the shore theycouldn't help finding it. Still, there is nothing to prevent oursailing away now, as the island is between us and them."
"That is so," the captain said. "But if they come while we are away,in the first place they would capture all the booty in the stores, andin the second place they might lie quiet in the harbor and would sinkthe other ships when they returned. I will go down to the port again,Jacques, and will send up two of the men from the storehouse to keepwatch here, turn and turn about. Do you remain here until you arerelieved. I will leave my glass with you. If there is anything fresh,leave the boy on watch and come down with the news yourself. I musttalk this matter over with the mates. We have no direct interest inthe stores, but we must do the best we can for our owners."
Jacques and Ralph watched the distant boats through the glass untilthey disappeared round the end of the island, then turned the glassseaward. Jacques was using it at the time. "See!" he exclaimed, "thereare three sails together there."
"I can see them plainly enough," Ralph said. "What do you make themout to be?"
"A schooner, a brig, and a three-masted vessel. They are lying closetogether, and I fancy boats are passing between them. However, Icouldn't swear to that. They must be fifteen miles away. I expect theyare our consorts, and a merchantman they have captured."
"Can they see them from the other side of that island?" Ralph askedexcitedly.
"I should say they could," Jacques replied after pausing to calculatethe line of sight. "It depends how far round the frigate is lying, andhow close in shore. But if they have sent any one up on the hillthere, of course they can make them out as plainly as we can." Jacqueshanded the glass to Ralph.
"Yes, I think I can make out boats, Jacques. What do you suppose theyare doing?"
"Most likely they are transferring the valuable part of her cargo onboard."
"What will they do with her then?"
"I expect they will let her go; but of course that depends whether sheis a new ship and worth taking the risk of carrying her to France."
"They don't burn or sink her, then?"
"No; there would be no good in that; for they wouldn't know what to dowith the crew. Of course they don't want the bother of prisoners here,and they wouldn't want to turn them adrift in the boats. They mightland on some island near and see us going and coming here, and carrythe news to some of your cruisers. No, I expect they will take what isvaluable and let them go--that is if the ship isn't worth sendinghome. I suppose that is so in this case; for if they were going to puta prize crew on board and send it to France, they would not betransferring the cargo.
Well, we shall see in another half hour."