CHAPTER TWENTY.
But who is this? What thing of sea Comes this way sailing, Like a stately ship With all her bravery on, and tackle trim? MILTON.
The privateer was called the _True-blooded Yankee_. She was first boundto the island of Tristan d'Acunha, where she expected to meet herconsort, belonging to the same owners, and who had preceded her, whentheir directions were to cruise between the Cape and Madagascar, forcertain homeward bound extra Indiamen, one or two of which she hopedwould reward all the trouble and expense of the outfit.
We reached the island without any material incident. I had observed,with concern, that the second mate, whose name was Peleg Oswald, was asour, ferocious, quarrelsome man; and that although I was kindly treatedby the captain, whose name was Peters, and by the chief mate, whose namewas Methusalem Solomon, I never could conciliate the good-will of PelegOswald.
Green, the captain, who came with me, was, from the time I saved hislife, an altered man. He had been, as I was informed, a drunkenprofligate; but from the moment when I received him into my boat, hismanners and habits seemed as completely changed as if he were adifferent being. He never drank more than was sufficient to quench histhirst--he never swore--he never used any offensive language. He readthe Scriptures constantly, was regular in the morning and eveningdevotion, and on every occasion of quarrel or ill-will in the brig,which was perpetually occurring, Green was the umpire and thepeacemaker. He saved the captain and chief mate a world of trouble; bythis system, violent language became uncommon on board, punishment wasvery rare, and very mild. The men were happy, and did their duty withalacrity; and but for Peleg Oswald, all would have been harmony.
We made the island about the 15th of December, when the weather was suchas the season of the year might induce us to expect, it being thensummer. We hove off to the north or windward side of the island, abouttwo miles from the shore; we dared not go nearer on that side, for fearof what are called the "Rollers"--a phenomenon, it would appear, ofterrific magnitude, on that sequestered little spot. On thisextraordinary operation of nature, many conjectures should have beenoffered, but no good or satisfactory reason has ever been assigned tosatisfy my mind; for the simple reason, that the same causes wouldproduce the same effect on St. Helena, Ascension, or any other island orpromontory exposed to a wide expanse of water. I shall attempt todescribe the scene that a succession, of rollers would present,supposing, what has indeed happened, that a vessel is caught on thecoast when coming in.
The water will be perfectly smooth--not a breath of wind--when,suddenly, from the north, comes rolling a huge wave with a glassysurface, never breaking till it meets the resistance of the land, whenit dashes down with a noise and a resistless violence that no art oreffort of man could elude. It is succeeded by others. No anchoragewould hold, if there were anchorage to be had; but this is not the case;the water is from ninety to one hundred fathoms deep, and, consequently,an anchor and cable could scarcely afford a momentary check to any shipwhen thus assailed; or, if it did, the sea would, by being resisted,divide, break on board, and swamp her. Such was the fate of theunfortunate ---, a British sloop of war; which, after landing thecaptain and six men, was caught in the rollers, driven on shore, andevery creature on board perished, only the captain and his boat's crewescaping. This unfortunate little vessel was lost, not from want ofskill or seamanship in the captain or crew, for a finer set of men neverswam salt water; but from their ignorance of this peculiarity of theisland, unknown in any other that I ever heard of, at least to such analarming extent. Driven close into the land before she could findsoundings, at last she let go three anchors; but nothing could withstandthe force of the "rollers," which drove her in upon the beach, where shebroke in two as soon as she landed, and all hands perished in sight ofthe affected captain and his boat's crew, who buried the bodies of theirunfortunate shipmates as soon as the sea had delivered them up.
There is another remarkable peculiarity in this island: its shores to avery considerable extent out to sea are surrounded with the plant called_Fucus maximus_, mentioned by Captain Cook; it grows to the depth ofsixty fathoms, or one hundred and eighty feet, and reaches in one longstem to the surface, when it continues to run along to the enormouslength of three or four hundred feet, with short alternate branches atevery foot of its length. Thus, in the stormy ocean grows a planthigher and of greater length than any vegetable production of thesurface of the earth, not excepting the banyan tree, which, as itsbranches touch the ground, takes fresh root, and may be said to form aseparate tree. These marine plants resist the most powerful attacks ofthe mightiest elements combined; the winds and the waves in vain combinetheir forces against them; uniting their foliage on the bosom of thewaters, they laugh at the hurricane and defy its power. The leaves arealternate; and when the wind ruffles the water, they flap over, oneafter the other, with a mournful sound, doubly mournful to us from thesad association of ideas and the loneliness of the island. The branchesor tendrils of these plants are so strong and buoyant, when several ofthem happen to unite, that a boat cannot pass through them; I tried withmy feet what pressure they would bear, and I was convinced that, with apair of snow-shoes, a man might walk over them.
Captain Peters kindly invited me to go on shore with him. We landedwith much difficulty, and proceeded to the cottage of a man who had beenleft there from choice; he resided with his family, and, in imitation ofanother great personage on an island to the northward of him, styledhimself "Emperor." A detachment of British soldiers had been sent fromthe Cape of Good Hope to take possession of this spot, but after a timethey were withdrawn.
His present imperial majesty had, at the time of my visit, a blackconsort, and many snuff-coloured princes and princesses. He was inother respects a perfect Robinson Crusoe: he had a few head of cattle,and some pigs: these latter have greatly multiplied on the island.Domestic fowls were numerous, and he had a large piece of ground plantedwith potatoes, the only place south of the equator which produces themin their native perfection. The land is rich and susceptible of greatimprovement; and the soil is intersected with numerous running springsover its surface. But it was impossible to look on this lonely spotwithout recalling to mind the beautiful lines of Cowper--
"O Solitude, where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face?"
Yet in this wild place alarms and even rebellion had found their way;the emperor had but one subject, and this Caliban had ventured, indirect violation of an imperial mandate, to kill a fowl for his dinner.
"Rebellion," said the enraged emperor, "is the son of witchcraft, and Iam determined to make an example of the offender."
I became the mediator between these two belligerents. I represented tohis imperial majesty that, as far as the matter of example went, theseverity would lose its effect; for his children were as yet too youngto be corrupted; and, moreover, as his majesty was so well versed inScripture, he must know that it was his duty to forgive. "Besides," Isaid, "her majesty the queen has a strong arm, and can always assist inrepelling or chastising any future act of aggression or disobedience."I suspect that the moral code of his majesty was not unlike my own: ityielded to the necessities of the time. He must have found itparticularly inconvenient not to be on speaking terms with his primeminister and arch-chancellor, whom he had banished to the opposite sideof the island on pain of death. The sentence was originally for sixmonths; but on my intercession the delinquent was pardoned and restoredto favour. I felt much self-complacency when I reflected on thissuccessful instance of my mediatorial power, which had perhaps smothereda civil war in its birth.
The emperor informed me that an American whaler was lying at the eastside of the island, filling with the oil of the walrus, or sea-horse;that she had been there at anchor six weeks, and was nearly full. Iasked to be shown to the spot where the --- was wrecked; he took me toher sad remains. She lay broken in pieces on the rocks; and not farfrom her was a mound of earth, on which was placed a painted piece ofboard by way of a
tombstone. The fate of the vessel, together with thenumber of sufferers, were marked in rude but concise characters; I donot exactly remember the words, but in substance it stated, thatunderneath lay the remains of one hundred as fine fellows as ever walkeda plank, and that they had died like British seamen, doing their duty tothe last. This was a melancholy sight, especially to a sailor, who knewnot how soon the same fate awaited him.
We rafted off several casks of water during that day, and on thefollowing we completed our water, and then ran to the east end of theisland to anchor near and wait for our consort, the whaler, the captainof which had come in his boat to visit us: I conversed with him, and wasstruck with one remark which he made.
"You Englishmen go to work in a queerish kind of way," said he; "yousend a parcel of soldiers to live on an island where none but sailorscan be of use. You listen to all that those redcoats tell you; theynever thrive when placed out of musket-shot from a gin-shop: and because_they_ don't like it, you evacuate the island. A soldier likes his owncomfort, although very apt to destroy that of other folks; and it a'n'tvery likely he would go and make a good report of an island that hadneither women nor rum, and where he was no better than a prisoner. Now,if Brother Jonathan had taken this island, I guess he would a made itpay for its keep; he would have had two or three crews of whalers, withtheir wives and families, and all their little comforts about them, witha party of good farmers to till the land, and an officer to command thewhole. The island can provide itself, as you may perceive, and allwould have gone on well. It is just as easy to `fish' the island fromthe shore as it is in a vessel, and indeed much easier. Only land yourboilers and casks, and a couple of dozen good whale-boots, and thisisland would produce a revenue that would repay with profit all themoney laid out upon it, for the sea-horses have no other place to go to,either to shed their coats in the autumn, or bring forth their young inthe spring. The fishing and other duties would be a source of amusementto the sailors, who, if they chose, might return home occasionally inthe vessels that came to take away the full casks of oil, and land theempty ones."
The captain of the whaler returned to his ship, but, I suppose, forgotto give our captain very particular directions about the anchorage. Weran down to the east end of the island, and were just going to bring up,when, supposing himself too near the whaler, Peters chose to run alittle further. I should have observed, that as we rounded thenorth-east point, the breeze freshened, and the squall came out of thegullies and deep ravines. We therefore shortened sail, and, passingvery near the whaler, they hailed us; but it blew so fresh that we didnot hear what they said; and, having increased our distance from thewhaler to what was judged proper, let go the anchor.
Ninety fathoms of cable ran out in a crack, before she turned head towind; and to our mortification, we found we had passed the bank uponwhich the whaler had brought up, and must have dropped our anchor into awell, for we had nineteen fathoms water under the bows, and only sevenfathoms under her stern. The moon showed her face just at this moment,and we had the further satisfaction of perceiving that we were withinfifty yards of a reef of rocks which lay astern of us, with their dirtyblack heads above water.
We were very much surprised to find, notwithstanding the depth of water,that, during the lulls, we rode with a slack cable; but about twoo'clock in the morning the cable parted, being cut by the foul ground.All sail was made immediately, but the rocks astern were so close to us,that you might have thrown a biscuit on them, and we thought the cruiseof the _True-blooded Yankee_ was at an end; but it proved otherwise, forthe same cause which produced the slack cable preserved the vessel. The_Fucus maximus_, we found, had interposed between us and destruction; wehad let go our anchor in this submarine forest, and had perched, as itwere, on the tops of the trees; and so thick were the leaves andbranches, that they held us from driving, and prevented our going onshore when the cable had parted. We dragged slowly through the plants,and were very glad to see ourselves once more clear of this miserablespot.
"Better dwell in the midst of alarms, Than reign in this horrible place."
But I sincerely wish all manner of success to this little empire, thoughI hope my evil stars will never take me to it again. We shaped ourcourse for the Cape of Good Hope, for Captain Peters would not runfurther risk in waiting for the consort privateer.
Poor Thompson, notwithstanding all my exertions in his favour, wasexposed to much ill-treatment on board the vessel, on account of hisfirm and unshaken loyalty. He seldom complained to me, but sometimesvindicated himself by a gentle hint from one of his ample fists on thenose or eye of the offender, and here the matter usually ended for hischaracter was so simple and inoffensive, that all the best men in thevessel loved him. One night a man fell overboard--the weather was fine,and the brig had but little way; they were lowering down the jolly-boatfrom the stern, when one of the hooks by which she hung by the stern,broke, and four men were precipitated with violence into the water. Twoof them could not swim, and all screamed loudly for help as soon as theycame up from their dive. Thompson, seeing this, darted from the sternlike a Newfoundland dog, swam to the weakest, supported him to therudder chains, and, leaving him, went to another, bringing him to thestern of the vessel, and making a rope fast under his arms. In this wayhe succeeded in saving the whole of these poor fellows. Two of the fivewould certainly have sunk but for his timely assistance, for it was sometime before another boat could be got ready; and the other three ownedthat they much doubted whether they could have reached the vesselwithout help.
This conduct of Thompson was much applauded by all on board, and someasked him why he ventured his life for people who had used him so ill;he answered, that his "mither" and his Bible taught him to do all thegood he could: and as God had given him a strong arm, he hoped he shouldalways use it for the benefit of his brother in need.
It might have been supposed that an act like this would have preventedthe recurrence of any further insult; but the more the Americansperceived Thompson's value, the more eager were they to have him astheir own. The second mate, whom I have already described as a roughand brutal fellow, one day proposed to him to belong to their vessel,certain, he added, that he would make his fortune by the capture of two,if not three, extra Indiamen, which they had information of on theirpassage.
Thompson looked the man fully in the face, and said, "Did ye no hearwhat I telled the captain the ither day?"
"Yes," said the man, "I knew that, but that's what we call in ourcountry `all my eye.'"
"But they do not call it so in my country," said the Caledonian, at thesame time planting his fist so full and plump in the left eye of themate, that he fell like the "_humi bos_," covering a very large part ofthe deck with his huge carcass.
The man got up, found his face bleeding plentifully, and his eye closed;but instead of resenting the insult himself, went off and complained tothe captain. Many of the Americans, either from hatred or jealousy,went along with him, and clamorously demanded that the Englishman shouldbe punished for striking an officer. When the story, however, came tobe fairly explained, the captain said he was bound to confess that thesecond mate was the aggressor, inasmuch as he had acknowledged that heknew the penalty of the transgression before he committed the act; thathe (the captain) had told Thompson, when he made the declaration, thathe thought him perfectly right, and, consequently, he was bound toprotect him by every law of hospitality as well as gratitude, after hisservices in saving the lives of their countrymen.
This did not satisfy the crew; they were clamorous for punishment, and amutiny was actually headed by the second mate. There was, however, alarge party on board who were in no humour to see an Englishman treatedwith such indignity. Of what country they were may readily beconjectured. The dispute ran high; and I began to think that seriousconsequences might ensue, for it had continued from the serving of grogat twelve o'clock till near two; when casting my eyes over the larboardquarter, I perceived a sail, and told the captain of it; he instantl
yhailed the look-out-man at the mast-head; but the look-out-man had beenso much interested with what was going on upon deck, that he had comedown into the maintop to listen.
"Don't you see that sail on the larboard quarter?" said the captain.
"Yes, sir," said the man.
"And why did you not report her?"
The man could make no reply to this question, for a very obvious reason.
"Come down here," said the captain; "let him be released, Solomon; wewill show you a little Yankee discipline."
But before we proceed to the investigation of the crime, or theinfliction of punishment, we must turn our eyes to the great objectwhich rose clearer and clearer every five minutes above the horizon.The privateer was at this time under topsails, and top-gallant-sails,jib, and foresail, running to the north-east, with a fine breeze andsmooth water.
"Leftenant," said the captain, "what you think of her?"
"I think," said I, "that she is an extra Indiaman; and if you mean tospeak her, you had better put your head towards her under an easy sail;by which means you will be so near by sunset, that if she runs from you,you will be able, with your superior sailing, to keep sight of her allnight."
"I guess you are not far wrong in that," said the captain.
"I guess he is directly in the face of the truth," said the chief mate,who had just returned from the maintop, where he had spent the lastquarter of an hour in the most intense and absorbed attention to the cutof the stranger's sails. "If e'er I saw wood and canvas put togetherbefore in the shape of a ship that there is one of John Bull's bellowingcalves of the ocean, and not less than a forty-four gunner."
"What say you to that, leftenant?" said the captain.
"Oh, as to that," said the mate, "it isn't very likely that he's goingto tell us the truth."
"Because you would not have done it yourself in the same situation,"said I.
"Just so," said the mate.
And, in fact, I must own that I had no particular wish to cruise forsome months in this vessel, and go back for water at Tristan d'Acunha.I therefore did not use my very best optical skill when I gave myopinion; but as I saw the stranger was nearing us very fast, although wewere steering the same way, I made my mind up that I should very soon beout of this vessel, and on my way to England, where all my happiness andprospects were centred.
The chief mate took one more look--the captain followed his examples;they then looked at each other, and pronounced their cruise at an end.
"We are done, sir," said the mate; "and all owing to that damned Englishrenegade that you would enter on the books as one of the ship's company.But let's have him aft, and give him his discharge regularly."
"First of all," said the captain, "suppose we try what is to be donewith our heels. They used to be good, and I never saw thebrass-bottomed sarpent that could come a-near us yet. Send the royalyards up--clear away the studding-sails--keep her with the wind just twopoints abaft the beam, that's her favourite position; and I think we maygive the slip to that old-country devil in the course of the night."
I said nothing, but looked very attentively to all that was doing. Thevessel was well manned, certainly, and all sail was set upon her in avery expeditious manner.
"Heave the log," said the captain.
They did so; and she was going, by their measurement, nine and six.
"What do you think your ship is doing?" said the captain to me.
"I think," said I, "she is going about eleven knots; and, as she is sixmiles astern of you, that she will be within gun-shot in less than fourhours."
"Part of that time shall be spent in paying our debts for this favour,"said the captain. "Mr Solomon, let them seize that _no-nation_ rascalup to the main rigging, and hand up two of your most hungry cats. Whereis Dick Twist, he that was boatswain's mate of the _Statira_; and thatred-haired fellow, you know, that swam away from the _Maidstone_ in theRappahanock?"
"You mean carroty Sam, I guess--pass the word for Sam Gall."
The two operators soon appeared, each armed with the instruments of hisoffice; and I must say that in malignity of construction they were equalto anything used on similar occasions, even by Captain G---. Theculprit was now brought forward, and to my surprise, it was the very manwhom Thompson, when in the boat had thrown overboard for mutiny. Icannot say that I felt sorry for the cause or the effect that was likelyto be produced by the disputes of the day.
"Seize him up," said the captain; "you were sent to the mast-head inyour regular turn of duty; and you have neglected that duty, by whichmeans we are likely to be taken: so, before my authority ceases, I willshow you a Yankee trick."
"I am an Englishman," said the man; "and appeal to my officer forprotection."
The captain looked at me.
"If I am the officer you appeal to," said I, "I do not acknowledge you.You threw off your allegiance when you thought it suited your purpose,and you now wish to resume it to screen yourself from a punishment whichyou richly deserve. I shall certainly not interfere in your favour."
"I was born," roared the cockney, "in Earl Street, seven Dials--mymother keeps a tripe-shop--I am a true-born Briton, and you have noright to flog me."
"You was a Yankee sailor from New London, yesterday, and you are atripe-seller from Old London to-day; I think I am right in calling you ano-nation rascal: but we will talk about the right another time," saidthe captain; "meanwhile Dick Twist, do you begin."
Twist obeyed his orders with skill and accuracy; and having given theprisoner three-dozen that would not have disgraced the legerdemain of myfriend the Farnese Hercules in the brig, Sam Gall was desired to takehis turn. Sam acquitted himself _a merveille_ with the like number; andthe prisoner after a due proportion of bellowing was cast loose. Icould not help reflecting how very justly this captain had got hisvessel into jeopardy by first allowing a man to be seduced from hisallegiance, and then placing confidence in him.
"Let us now take a look at the chase," said the captain. "Zounds, shedraws up with us. I can see her bowsprit-cap hen she lifts; and half anhour ago I only saw her foreyard. Cut away the jolly-boat from thestern, Solomon."
The chief mate took a small axe, and, with a steady blow at the end ofeach davit, divided the falls, and the boat fell into the sea.
"Throw these here two aftermost guns overboard," said the captain; "Iguess we are too deep abaft, and they would not be of much use to us inthe way of defence, for this is a whopper that's after us."
The guns in a few minutes were sent to their last rest; and for the nexthalf hour the enemy gained less upon them. It was now about half-pastthree p.m.; the courage of the Yankees revived; and the second matereminded the captain that his black eye had not been reckoned for at themain rigging.
"Nor shall it be," said the captain, "while I command the _True-bloodedYankee_; what is, is right; no man shall be punished for fair defenceafter warning. Thompson, come and stand aft."
The man was in the act of obeying this order, when he was seized on bysome six or eight of the most turbulent, who began to tear off hisjacket.
"Avast there, shipmates!" said Twist and Gall, both in a breath. "Wedon't mind touching up such a chap as this here tripeman; but not thescratch of a pin does Thompson get in this vessel. He is one of us; heis a seaman every inch of him, and you must flog us, and some fiftymore, if once you begin; for damn my eyes if we don't heave the log withthe second mate, and then lay-to till the frigate comes alongside."
The mutineers stood aghast for a few seconds; but the second mate,jumping on a gun, called out, "Who's of our side? Are we going to bebullied by these damned Britishers?"
"You are," said I, "if doing an act of justice is bullying. You are ingreat danger, and I warn you of it. I perceive the force of those whomyou pretend to call Americans; and though I am the last man in the worldto sanction an act of treachery by heaving the ship to, yet I cautionyou to beware how you provoke the bull-dog, who has only broke hismaster's chain `for a lark,' and is ready to
return to him. I am yourguest, and therefore your faithful friend; use your utmost endeavours toescape from your enemy. I know what she is, for I know her well; and,if I am not much mistaken, you have scarcely more time, with all yourexertions, than to pack up your things; for, be assured, you will notpass twelve hours more under your own flag."
This address had a tranquillising effect. The captain, Captain Green,and Solomon, walked aft; and, to their great dismay, saw distinctly thewater-line of the pursuing frigate.
"What can be done?" said the captain: "she has gained on us in thismanner, while the people were all aft settling that infernal dispute.Throw two more of the after guns overboard."
This order was obeyed with the same celerity as the former, but not withthe same success. The captain now began to perceive, what was prettyobvious to me before, namely, that by dropping the boat from the extremeend of the vessel, where it hung like the pea on the steelyard, he didgood; the lightening her also of the two aftermost guns, hanging overthe dead wood of the vessel, was in like manner serviceable. But herehe should have stopped; the effect of throwing the next two gunsoverboard was pernicious. The vessel fell by the head; her stern wasout of the water; she steered wild, yawed, and decreased in her rate ofsailing in a surprising manner.
"Cut away the bower anchors," said the captain.
The stoppers were cut, and the anchors dropped; the brig immediatelyrecovered herself from her oppression, as it were, and resumed herformer velocity; but the enemy had by this time made fearful approaches.The only hope of the captain and his crew was in the darkness; and asthis darkness came on, my spirits decreased, for I greatly feared thatwe should have escaped. The sun had sunk some time below the horizon:the cloud of sail coming up astern of us began to be indistinct, and atlast disappeared altogether in a black squall: we saw no more of her fornearly two hours.
I walked the deck with Green and the captain. The latter seemed ingreat perturbation: he had hoped to make his fortune,--and retire fromthe toils and cares of a sea-life in some snug corner of the Westernsettlements, where he might cultivate a little farm, and lead the lifeof an honest man; "for _this_ life," said he, "I am free to confess, is,after all, little better than highway robbery."
Whether the moral essay of the captain was the effect of his presentdanger, I will not pretend to say. I only know, that if the reader willturn back to some parts of my history, he will find me very often in asimilar mood on similar occasions.
The two captains and the chief mate now retired, after leaving memeditating by myself over the larboard gunwale, just before the mainrigging. The consultation seemed to be of great moment; and, as Iafterwards learned, was to decide what course they should steer, seeingthat they evidently lost sight of their pursuer. I felt all my hopes ofrelease vanish as I looked at them, and had made up my mind to go to NewYork.
At this moment, a man came behind me, as if to get a pull at thetop-gallant sheets; and while he hung down upon it with a kind of"yeo-ho," he whispered in my ear--"You may have the command of the brigif you like. We are fifty Englishmen--we will heave her to and hoist alight, if you will only say the word, and promise us our free pardon."
I pretended at first not to hear, but, turning round, I saw Mr Twist.
"Hold, villain!" said I; "do you think to redeem one act of treachery byanother? and do you dare to insult the honour of a naval officer with aproposal so infamous? Go to your station instantly, and think yourselffortunate that I do not denounce you to the captain, who has a perfectright to throw you overboard--a fate which your chain of crimes fullydeserves."
The man skulked away, and I went off to the captain, to whom I relatedthe circumstance, desiring him to be on his guard against treachery.
"Your conduct, sir," said the captain, "is what I should have expectedfrom a British naval officer; and since you have behaved so honourably,I will freely tell you that my intention is to shorten sail to thetopsails and foresail, and haul dead on a wind into that dark squall tothe southward."
"As you please," said I; "you cannot expect that I should advise, norwould you believe me if I said I wished you success; but rely on it Iwill resist, by every means in my power, any unfair means to dispossessyou of your command."
"I thank you, sir," said the captain, mournfully; and, without losingany more time in useless words, "Shorten sail there," continued he, witha low but firm voice; "take in the lower and topmost studding-sail--hands aloft--in top-gallant studding-sails, and roll up the top-gallantsails."
All this appeared to be done with surprising speed, even to me, who hadbeen accustomed to very well conducted ships of war. One mistake,however, was made; the lower studding-sail, instead of being hauled inon deck, was let to fall overboard, and towed some time under thelarboard bow before it was reported to the officers.
"Haul in the larboard braces--brace sharp up--port the helm and bringher to the wind, quarter-master."
"Port it is, sir," said the man at the helm, and the vessel was closehauled upon the starboard tack; but she did not seem to move very fast,although she had a square mainsail, boom mainsail, and jib.
"I think we have done them at last," said the captain; "what do youthink, leftenant?" giving me a hearty but very friendly slap on theback. "Come, what say; shall we take a cool bottle of London particularafter the fatigues of the day?"
"Wait a little," said I, "wait a little."
"What are you looking at there to windward?" said the captain, whoperceived that my eye was fixed on a particular point.
Before I had time to answer, Thompson came up to me and said, "There isthe ship, sir," pointing to the very spot on which I was gazing. Thecaptain heard this; and, as fear is ever quicksighted, he instantlycaught the object.
"Running is of no use now," said he; "we have tried her off the wind,our best going; she beats us at that: and on a wind, I don't think somuch of her; but still, with this smooth water and fine breeze, sheought to move better. Solomon, there is something wrong, give a lookall round."
Solomon went forward on the starboard side, but saw nothing. As helooked over the gangway and bow, coming round on the lee side of theforecastle, he saw some canvas hanging on one of the night-heads. "Whathave we here?" said he. No one answered. He looked over thefore-chains, and found the whole lower studding-sail towing in thewater.
"No wonder she don't move," said the mate; "here is enough to stop the_Constitution_ herself. Who took in this here lower studding-sail?--But, never mind, we'll settle that to-morrow. Come over here, youforecastle men."
Some of the Americans came over to him, but not with very greatalacrity. The sail could not be pulled in, as the vessel had too muchway; and while they were ineffectually employed about it, the flash of agun was seen to windward; and as the report reached our ears, the shotwhistled over our heads, and, darted like lightning through the boommainsail.
"Hurrah for old England!" said Thompson; "the fellow that fired thatshot shall drink my allowance of grog to-morrow."
"Hold your tongue, you damned English rascal," said the second mate, "orI'll stop your grog for ever."
"I don't think you will," said the North Briton, "and if you take afriend's advice, you won't try." Thompson was standing on the littleround-house or poop; the indignant mate jumped up and collared him.Thompson disengaged him in the twinkling of an eye, and with one blow ofhis right hand in the pit of the man's stomach, sent him reeling over toleeward. He fell--caught at the boom-sheet--missed it, and tumbled intothe sea, from whence he rose no more.
All was now confusion. "A man overboard!"--another shot from thefrigate--another and another in quick succession. The fate of the manwas forgotten in the general panic. One shot cut the aftermostmain-shroud; another went through the boat on the booms. The frigatewas evidently very near us. The men all rushed down to seize their bagsand chests; the captain took me by the hand, and said, "Sir, I surrendermyself to you, and give you leave now to act as you think proper."
"Thompson," said I,
"let go the main-sheet and the main-brace." Runningforward myself, I let go the main-tack, and bowlines; the main yard camesquare of itself. Thompson got a lantern, which he held up on thestarboard quarter.
The frigate passed close under the stern, showing a beautiful pale side,with a fine tier of guns; and, hailing us, desired to know what vesselit was.
I replied that it was the _True-blooded Yankee_, of Boston--that she hadhove-to and surrendered.
Frank Mildmay; Or, the Naval Officer Page 20