Percival Keene

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

  IT was not until three or four days after the ship had sailed fromMartinique that the captain spoke to me. I had during that timeremained in my cot, which was hung up in the fore-cabin, and when thesurgeon dressed my wounds it was only in the presence of Bob Cross. Onthe fourth morning after our sailing, the captain came inside of thescreen, which was hung round my cot:--"Well, Mr Keene," said he in avery kind voice, "how are you?"

  "Much better, sir, I thank you; and hope you will look over the greatliberty I ventured to take for the honour of the service."

  "Why," replied the captain, smiling, "I think you have been sufficientlypunished already for your temerity; I appreciate your motive of actionand feel obliged to you for your great zeal towards the service andtowards me. The only objection (I may say annoyance) I have on thesubject is, the mystery and secrecy compelled to be observed inconsequence of your taking my place; and still more, that one of theseamen of the ship should be a party to the secret."

  "I certainly did not consider the consequences as I ought to have done,sir, when I ventured to act as I did," replied I.

  "Say no more about it, Mr Keene. I am very sorry to hear of yourmother's death; but it was not, I believe, unexpected."

  "No, sir," replied I; "and therefore the shock has not been so great."

  "Well, Mr Keene, of course it is from the interest I took in yourmother that I was induced to take you under my protection, and her deathwill make no difference in that point, so long as you conduct yourselfas you have hitherto done. You have now created a strong interest foryourself by your good conduct, and I shall not lose sight of you. Howmany months have you yet to serve before your time is out?"

  "I have served five years and seven months, as far as I can recollect."

  "So I thought. Now, Mr Keene, it was because I thought of you that Idid not fill up the lieutenant's vacancy which was made by the death ofCaptain W and the promotion of the commander and my first lieutenant.As soon as you are well, I will give you an acting order as lieutenantof this ship; and, as we are now on a sort of roving commission, I haveno doubt but that you will have served your time, and found the means ofpassing, before we join the admiral; your promotion will, under suchcircumstances, be, I have no doubt, confirmed; so all you have to do nowis to get well as fast as you can. Good-bye."

  The captain gave me a most gracious nod, and then went outside of thescreen, giving me no time for thanks. I was, indeed, overjoyed; not somuch at the promotion as at the change in the captain's manner towardsme: a change so palpable that it filled me with the fondestanticipations. I remained for a long while reflecting upon my futureprospects. As a lieutenant of the same ship I should be more in contactwith him: he could now converse and take notice of me without its beingconsidered remarkable; nay, he could be intimate with me. I resolved tobe most careful of my conduct, so as not to alarm his pride by the leastfamiliarity, and hoped, eventually, to play my cards so as to obtain myearnest wish; but I felt that there was a great deal of ground to goover first, and that the greatest circumspection was necessary. I feltthat I had still to raise myself in his opinion and in the opinion ofthe world to a much higher position than I was in at present, before Icould expect that Captain Delmar would, virtually, acknowledge me as hisson. I felt that I had to wade through blood, and stand the chance ofthousands of balls and bullets in my professional career, before I coulddo all this; a bright vista of futurity floated before me and, in thefar distance, I felt myself in the possession of my ambition, and withmy eyes still fixed upon it I dropped fast asleep, revelling still inthe same dreams which I had indulged in when awake.

  In a fortnight I was quite recovered; my wounds had healed up, and I nowwalked about. Having had my uniform altered by the ship's tailor, andprocured an epaulet from one of the lieutenants, I took possession of mycabin in the gun-room, and was warmly received by my new messmates; butI did not return to my duty for nearly a month, on account of a littlelameness still remaining, and which the surgeon declared was often thecase after the yellow fever!!

  I ought to have observed, that when my mother was so indulgent as tocommit suicide for my sake, she had taken every precaution, and theletter of my grandmother informed Captain Delmar that my mother hadbequeathed me 12,000 pounds in the three per cents, which she had laidby from her business, and that therefore there was no longer anyoccasion that I should be an expense to Captain Delmar. It must not,however, be supposed, from my grandmother stating this, that CaptainDelmar was at all mercenary or stingy; on the contrary, consideringthat, as the second son of a nobleman, he had only 1,000 pounds perannum besides his pay, he was exceedingly liberal (although notextravagant) in all money matters.

  At last I was well enough to return to my duty; and glad I was to beonce more walking the quarter-deck, not as before, on the lee, but onthe weather side, with an epaulet on my shoulder. Strange to say, therewas not a midshipman in the ship (although there were so many) who hadserved so long as I had, and in consequence there was not anyheart-burning or jealousy at my promotion, and I continued on the bestterms with my old mess-mates, although gradually lessening the intimacywhich existed between us. But that was not intentional on my part; itwas the effect of my promotion, and removal from the berth of a set oflads to the company of the senior and older officers. I was now a man,and had the feelings and thoughts of a man. My frolics and tricks werediscarded with the midshipman's coat; and in respecting my new rank Irespected myself.

  Now that I walked on the same side of the deck, Captain Delmar veryoften entered into conversation with me; and although at first it waswith caution on his part, yet, when he found that I never presumed, andwas, invariably, most respectful, he became on much more intimate termswith me.

  During three months we continued cruising about without falling in withor having received any intelligence of the French frigate which we weresent in quest of; at last Captain Delmar resolved to change the cruisingground, and we ran up to ten degrees of latitude further north.

  As we were running up, we fell in with an American brig, and brought herto; a boat was sent for the captain, who, when he came on board, wasinterrogated by Captain Delmar, as to his having seen or heard of anyFrench vessel on that coast. As the conversation took place on thequarter-deck, and I was officer of the watch, I can repeat it.

  "Well," replied the American through his nose, "I reckon there is aFrenchman in these parts?"

  "Have you fallen in with her?" inquired Captain Delmar.

  "Well, I may say I have; for I lay alongside of her in Cartagena when Iwas taking in my cargo of hides. You haven't such a thing as a spar aswill make me a pole top-gallant mast, captain, have you?"

  "Is she large or small?"

  "Well, captain, I don't care whether the spar be large or small; I'vetwo carpenters on board, and I'll soon dub it down into shape."

  "I inquired about the vessel--I did not refer to the spar," repliedCaptain Delmar, haughtily.

  "And I referred to the spar, which is my business, and not to thevessel, which is no consarn of mine," replied the American captain."You see, master, we have both our wants; you want information, I want aspar: I have no objection to a fair swop."

  "Well," replied Captain Delmar, rather amused, "give me the informationand you shall have the spar."

  "That's agreed."

  "Send for the carpenter, and desire him to get out a small spar, Mr---," said Captain Delmar to the first lieutenant.

  "Well, captain, that looks like business, and so now I'll go on. TheFrenchman is as large as you; may be," said he, looking round the deck,"he may be a bit larger, but you won't mind that, I suppose."

  "Did you leave her in port when you sailed?"

  "I reckon she was off two days before me."

  "And how many days is it since you sailed?"

  "Just four days, I calculate."

  "And did you hear where she was going to?"

  "Yes, I did, and I've a notion I could put my finge
r upon her now, if Ichoosed. Captain, you haven't got a coil of two-inch which you couldlend me--I ain't got a topsail brace to reeve and mine are very queerjust now. I reckon they've been turned end for end so often, thatthere's an end of them."

  "You say that you know where the vessel is--where is she?"

  "Captain, that's telling--can't I have the two inch?"

  "We have not a whole coil of two-inch left, sir," said the master,touching his hat. "We might spare him enough for a pair of new braces."

  "Well, well, I'm reasonable altogether, and if so be you haven't got it,I don't expect it. It's very odd now, but I can't just now remember theplace that the French vessel was going to; it's slipped clean out of mymemory."

  "Perhaps the two-inch might help your memory," replied the captain."Mr Smith, let the rope be got up and put into the boat."

  "Well," said the American captain, "as you say, mister, it may help mymemory. It's not the first time that I've freshened a man's memory witha bit of two-inch myself," continued he, grinning at his own joke; "butI don't see it coming."

  "I have ordered it to be put in the boat," replied Captain Delmar,haughtily: "my orders are not disobeyed, nor is my word doubted."

  "Not by them as knows you, I dare say, captain, but you're a stranger tome; I don't think I ask much, after all--a bit of spar and a bit ofrope--just to tell you where you may go and take a fine vessel, andpocket a nation lot of dollars as prize-money. Well, there's the rope,and now I'll tell you. She was going off Berbice or Surinam, to lookafter the West Indiamen, who were on the coast, or expected on it, Idon't know which. There you'll find her, as sure as I stand here; but Ithink that she is a bit bigger than this vessel--you don't mind that, Idare say."

  "You may go on board now, sir," said Captain Delmar.

  "Well, thank ye, captain, and good luck to you."

  The American captain went down the side; and as soon as our boatreturned, and was hoisted up, we made all sail for the coast ofDemerara.

  "She must be a fine vessel," said Captain Delmar to me, as he waswalking the deck,--"a very fine vessel, if she is bigger than we are."

  "You will excuse me, Captain Delmar, if I venture to observe that therewas an expression in the eye of the American, when he said a bit bigger,which made me take it into my head, that in saying so, he was onlydeceiving us. The Americans are not very partial to us, and would beglad of any revenge."

  "That may be, Mr Keene; but I do not see that he can be deceiving us,by making her out to be larger, as it is putting us on our guard. Hadhe said that she was smaller, it would then have been deceiving us."

  "I did not take it in that sense, sir," replied I. "He said a bitbigger; now, I can't help thinking that a bit bigger was meant todeceive us, and that it will prove that the Frenchman is aline-of-battle ship, and not a frigate: he wished to leave us under theimpression that it was a larger frigate than our own and no more."

  "It may be so," replied Captain Delmar, thoughtfully; "at all events,Mr Keene, I am obliged to you for the suggestion."

  The captain took two or three more turns fore and aft in silence andthen quitted the deck.