CHAPTER NINETEEN.
THE "THISBE" VICTORIOUS--AN ENEMY'S SQUADRON HEAVES IN SIGHT.
The crew of the _Thisbe_ stood at their guns, ready to open fire at theword of command. Several who had, at the commencement of the action,been among them, were missing; and though the survivors mourned theirloss, that was not the time either to think or talk about them. Not aword, indeed, was spoken fore and aft; not even the usual jokes passedbetween the men. The Frenchman showed no inclination to avoid thecombat. He could not have got away even had he wished, for hisforetopmast was gone, and he had not fully repaired the other damages hehad received aloft.
Nearer and nearer the _Thisbe_ drew to the enemy, still the looked-forword of command did not come. The captain resolved to wait till he gotclose up to her. The French, also, for some time refrained from firing,though the _Thisbe_ was within range of their guns. They were the firstto lose patience, or perhaps they thought that they could knock away thespars and rigging of their antagonist, and thus be able to make theirescape.
The _Thisbe_, however, was coming up on their larboard quarter. Theirguns which they could bring to bear were trained high for the purposementioned. The shot came whistling about her masts and rigging; butthough some of her sails were shot through, and a few ropes cut away, nomaterial damage was received. The breeze at that instant freshened, andthe _Thisbe_ glided rapidly on.
"Give it them, my lads!" cried the captain, as the helm being put tostarboard the whole of the _Thisbe's_ broadside was brought to bear withterrible effect on the enemy.
The Frenchman again fired. The _Thisbe's_ guns were quickly run in andreloaded. The breeze at that instant blew aside the smoke, and as itdid so the enemy's foremast was seen to fall with a crash overboard.
Loud cheers rang forth from the decks of the _Thisbe_. Again herbroadside was fired, but no return came. The next instant, through thesmoke, the Frenchman's ensign was seen in the act of being lowered, justin time to save them from another broadside.
The British crew had cheered lustily when they saw the foremast fall.They now redoubled their shouts, turning round and shaking each otherheartily by the hand; some throwing up their caps, and others, mostlythe Irishmen of the crew, leaping and dancing with delight.
Two of the _Thisbe's_ boats being uninjured, they were lowered; and thethird lieutenant, with a master's mate and a party of seamen, was senton board to take possession of the prize.
As they were about to shove off, Mr Saltwell inquired whether any onecould speak French.
"I can, sir," said Bill, touching his hat.
"Then go and assist Mr Sterling; you will be of much use," said thefirst lieutenant.
Bill, who had been longing to visit the prize, obeyed with no smallsatisfaction.
As they reached her deck, an officer advanced with his sword in hishand, and presented it to Mr Sterling, who, receiving it, handed it toBill.
The French officer announced that he was the second lieutenant of the_Diana_ frigate, which it was his misfortune now to yield into thepossession of her British conquerors.
Mr Sterling bowed in return.
"Tell him, Rayner," he said, "that we acknowledge how bravely he and hiscountrymen have fought their ship, and that though they have lost her,they have not lost their honour."
The French lieutenant looked highly gratified at this remark when Billinterpreted it, and desired him to express his obligation to the Englishlieutenant.
The captain and first lieutenant had been killed, as were no less thanthirty of the crew, including other officers, while fifty were wounded.
The deck, indeed, presented a dreadful scene--strewed in every directionwith corpses, while many poor fellows were so fearfully injured thattheir shipmates had been unwilling to move them.
The other officers presented their swords, while the seamen unbuckledtheir cutlasses, and the marines piled their arms. Many wry faces weremade, though most of the Frenchmen merely shrugged their shoulders,observing that what had happened to them was the fortune of war. Billmade himself very useful in communicating with the French officers andcrew.
One of the _Diana's_ boats had escaped injury, and she, being lowered,assisted the other boats in carrying the prisoners on board the_Thisbe_. They far outnumbered the English, and much vigilance wasrequired to keep them in order.
The prize crew sent on board the _Diana_ set to work, under the commandof Mr Sterling, to stop the shot-holes in her sides, and to repair herother more serious damages. A jury-mast was rigged forward, to supplythe place of the foremast carried away. In the meantime, a hawser beingconveyed on board the _Thisbe_, the prize was taken in tow, and sail wasmade for Plymouth.
It was of the greatest importance to get away from the French coastwithout delay, for a northerly wind might spring up and drive the twoships upon it; or if, as Captain Martin suspected, a French squadron wasin the neighbourhood, the sound of the firing might have reached them,and they would very probably come up to ascertain what had taken place,when the prize would be recaptured, and the _Thisbe_ herself might findit very difficult to escape.
Everybody on board had, therefore, ample work to do; besides which theprisoners in both ships had to be watched. Several had been allowed toremain on board the prize to assist the surgeons in attending to thewounded men. An eye had also to be kept on them.
Mr Saltwell sent for Bill, who had returned to the _Thisbe_.
"I remember well how you behaved on board the _Foxhound_, and I want youto keep a watch on the prisoners, and let me know if you hear or seeanything suspicious. They will probably remain quiet enough, as theymust know that they would have very little chance of success should theyattempt to rise upon us. At the same time it is better to be on thesafe side, and not to trust them too much."
"They have heard me talking French to the officers, and will be carefulwhat they say when they see me near them," answered Bill; "but there'smy messmate, Jack Peek, who was in France with me, and knows their`lingo' as well as I do; and as they have not heard him talking, they'llnot suspect him; and if you will allow me, sir, I will tell him to goamong them, and he'll soon find out if they have any thoughts ofmischief."
Mr Saltwell approved of Bill's proposal, and gave him leave to employJack as he suggested.
Bill, going below, soon found out his messmate.
Jack was well pleased at the confidence placed in him, and promised tokeep his eyes and ears well open.
There was no time for conversation just then, for every man in the shipwas busy, and the boys were wanted to assist them.
The frigate and her prize had made some way to the northward beforenight came on. A bright look-out was kept for any enemy which mightheave in sight; but when darkness gradually stole over the ocean, nonehad appeared.
During that night none of the English officers or men turned in. Themost tired snatched a few moments of sleep at intervals as best theycould when off watch.
The Frenchmen were allowed to lie down on deck between the guns, withsentries placed over them. It was very evident that, had they chosen torise, they might have overpowered the sentries at the cost of a few oftheir own lives. Fortunately none of them liked to run the risk ofbeing shot, and remained quiet.
The wind was light, and the _Thisbe_ and her prize made but slowprogress.
The captain anxiously waited the return of morning.
At early dawn look-outs were sent aloft to ascertain if any vessels werein sight. They reported three to the south-east, and one to thewestward; but what they were it was impossible at that distance to say,as their loftier sails could but indistinctly be seen rising above thehorizon.
The _Thisbe_ had already as much sail set as she could carry, butLieutenant Sterling was making an effort to get up a maintopmast onboard the prize.
When Jack and Bill met at breakfast, Jack reported that he had beenfrequently among the prisoners, but had failed to hear anything whichshowed that they had the slightest thoughts of attempting to regaintheir
liberty.
"What would you know about the matter even if they had been talkingtreason?" observed Tom. "I doubt if either of you fellows know muchabout French."
"As to that," said Bill, "we managed to talk to Frenchmen, and tounderstand what they said to us. That, at least, shows that we do knowsomething about French; not that I wish to boast, only I think I shoulddo much better if I could get hold of some French books."
Tom laughed. "Oh! I dare say you are going to become a great scholar,and to beat us all," he observed, with a sneer. "Jack was evendeclaring that you were likely to be placed on the quarter-deck. Thatwould be a good joke."
"It would be a good reality for me, though I don't think it's what isvery likely to happen," answered Bill, without getting at all angry.
"Nor do I," said Tom, in the same tone as before. "Just fancy a chaplike you turned into an officer. You can jabber a few words of French,and may have picked up a smattering of navigation on board the_Foxhound_, though I've a notion you must pretty well have forgotten allyou knew by this time, and you may be fond of books, but all that won'tturn a fellow who has come out of the gutter, as one may say, into agentleman, as I suppose those on the quarter-deck call themselves."
"And what do you call them?" exclaimed Jack, not liking to hear suchremarks made to Bill. "I wonder you dare to speak in that way."
"I call myself the son of a gentleman, and I'm thinking when I get intoport of writing to my father and asking him to have me placed on thequarter-deck."
"I wonder you didn't do that before you ran away from home," said Jack."They'll have forgotten all about you by this time, and maybe, if you domanage to write a letter, your father won't believe that it comes fromyou."
"Let him alone, Jack," said Bill; "I don't mind what he says about me.If his father gets him made a midshipman, I shall be as glad as anyone."
"Thank you," said Tom; "I flatter myself I shall know how to strut aboutthe quarter-deck and order the men here and there as well as the rest ofthem."
Just then a voice was heard shouting, "Tom Fletcher, the cook wants youin the galley. Be smart, now, you've been long enough at breakfast."
Tom, bolting his last piece of biscuit, hurried away, as he had no fancyfor the rope's-ending which would have been bestowed upon him had hedelayed obeying the summons.
The mess-tins were stowed away, and the watch hastened on deck. Thewind by this time had somewhat freshened, and the frigate and her prizewere making better progress than before. The strangers, however, whichhad appeared in sight in the morning were considerably nearer. A fourthwas now seen beyond the three which had been made out to the eastward.The ship to the westward which was considerably farther off than theothers, was evidently a large vessel, and the captain declared hisbelief that she was a line-of-battle ship, but whether English orFrench, it was impossible to decide. He hoped, as did everybody onboard, that she was English, for should she prove to be French, asundoubtedly were the vessels to the eastward, the _Thisbe_ would loseher hard-won prize, even though she might manage to escape herself.Still, Captain Martin was not a man to give up hope while there was achance of escape.
The _Thisbe_, followed by her prize, kept on her course with everystitch of canvas she could carry set.
"I'm afraid if we don't outrun those fellows there, we shall get boxedup again by the Frenchmen," observed Jack, pointing to the approachingships.
"If we do we must manage to get out somehow or other, as we did before,"answered Bill; "but even if they do come up with us, that's no reasonwhy we should be taken. We must try and beat them off, and the captainand Mr Saltwell are the men to do it. They are only four to our twoships, for the lieutenant in charge of the prize will fight his guns aswell as we do ours."
"But what do you say to that big ship coming up Channel out there?"asked Tom. "We shall be made mincemeat of if she gets up to us, for Iheard the boatswain's mate say that she's a seventy-four at least, andmay be an eighty-gun ship, or still larger."
"She hasn't come up with us yet," answered Bill. "We shall have time tobeat off the others and stand away to the northward before she gets uswithin range of her guns. Perhaps, too, the wind will shift to theeastward, and throw her to leeward. We shall then be well in withPlymouth by the time she can manage to beat up to us. We are not goingto give in while the tight little frigate keeps above water."
Bill expressed the sentiments of most of the crew. Still, the odds weregreatly against the _Thisbe_ and _Diana_. The latter had but fortyhands on board to work the guns and manage the sails, while the crew ofthe _Thisbe_ was thus far diminished, besides which they had to lookafter their prisoners.
The two leading ships of the enemy had been made out to be frigates, asit was thought probable were their consorts astern; and even though theymight fail to capture the _Thisbe_, they might knock away her masts andspars, and so maul her that she would be compelled to succumb to theline-of-battle ship coming up from the westward.
Not, however, by his manner, or anything he said, did the captain showthe least apprehension of such a result. The crew were at theirstations, ready to shorten sail should the breeze freshening render itnecessary. The men joked and laughed as usual, as ready for action asif they were only expecting one opponent of equal size.
The morning wore on, the hands were piped down to dinner, the prospectof hot work not at all damping their appetites, though perhaps they gotthrough their meal rather faster than was their wont; when they againhurried on deck to see how things were going on. The two Frenchfrigates were approaching. The headmost in a short time fired abowchaser, but the shot fell short. It served, however, as a signal toprepare for action. Once more the guns were cast loose, and their crewsstood ready to fire as soon as they received the looked-for word ofcommand.
A few of the French prisoners who had been allowed to remain on deckwere now ordered below. They went willingly enough, exhibiting in theircountenances the satisfaction they felt at the expectation of being soonrestored to liberty. They were, of course, narrowly watched, and wellknew that they would be pretty severely dealt with should they show anysigns of insubordination.
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