by G. A. Henty
The Italian craft was a brig of about a hundred and fifty tons burden, but as Edgar was the only passenger the accommodation was ample. A few minutes after he stepped on board the crew began to get up the anchor, and as soon as this was done, Mr. Muller and Sidi said good-bye and returned to shore. Edgar had, on coming on board, spoken a few words to the captain, who was glad to find that his passenger spoke Italian fluently. The wind was very light, and the brig made but little progress, and five days after sailing was still a hundred miles south of the Italian coast. Edgar, however, greatly enjoyed the time. He was in no particular hurry, and the comparatively cool air and the fresh green of the sea was delightful to him after the dry heat and sandy waste of Egypt.
On the sixth day a vessel-of-war was seen in the west. The captain felt no uneasiness; coming from Alexandria, a French vessel would regard him as a friend, while a British ship would certainly not interfere with an Italian trader, for the court of Naples was most friendly, and a portion at least of the British fleet were off the town. The ship-of-war was bringing up the breeze with her, and came along fast, and ere long the captain was able to declare that she was British. As she approached they found that she was the Tigre, an eighty-gun ship captured some time before from the French. When she came near she fired a gun across the bows of the brig, which at once lowered her sails. The man-of-war was thrown up into the wind as she approached, and a voice shouted in French, “What ship is that, and where from?”
“He wants to know your name and where from,” Edgar translated, and the captain shouted back, “the Annetta, bound from Alexandria to Naples.”
“Send a boat alongside with your captain,” was the order from the Tigre.
“Shall I go with you, captain, to translate,” Edgar volunteered.
The captain gladly assented, and the boat was at once lowered, and they were rowed to the Tigre. On ascending the deck they were taken to the captain. The latter glanced at Edgar and said, “Why, surely you are English?”
“I am, sir. My father was a merchant at Alexandria. I was away at the time the French arrived, and was left behind, and have been with a party of Arabs ever since.”
“Can you speak Arabic?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Any other languages?”
“French and Italian, sir. It was for that reason that I came on board with the captain to interpret for him.”
“Where are you going now?”
“I was going to Naples first, in order to take a passage home from there.”
“Ah! What have they got on board?”
“Little enough, sir. They came across with spirits and wine and other cargo. The man is a small trader and part owner of the ship.”
“Tell him if he carries stores again to Alexandria his ship will be seized as a prize by the first ship-of-war that comes across her. By carrying them to Alexandria he is aiding the French. Now about yourself. What are you going home for?”
“To join my father in England.”
“What are you going to do there?”
“I believe that I shall go into an office, sir, till my father can return to Egypt again.”
“You speak these three languages well.”
“Yes, sir; well enough to pass as a native.”
“Have you been doing any fighting ashore?”
“Not much fighting, sir,—the Arabs could not stand against the French; but I have seen a good deal. I saw the battle of the Pyramids, the sea fight in Aboukir Bay, and the street fighting in Cairo.”
“Well, with your knowledge of languages you ought to be able to do better than go into a London office. You might be very useful to me, and if you like to go with me to Constantinople, where I am bound, I will give you a midshipman’s rating. You may have an opportunity of seeing some more service, and when this affair is over you could, of course, leave the navy if you thought fit and rejoin your father. What do you say? I will give you five minutes to think it over.”
It required less time than this for Edgar to take his resolution. He had no fancy whatever for work in a London office, and the prospect of serving on board ship, the chance of seeing Constantinople and other places, and possibly of active service against the French, was vastly more pleasant. Before the end of that time he went up to the captain, touched his hat, and said that he thankfully accepted his offer.
“Very well, then, that is settled,” the officer said kindly. “I will give you ten minutes to row back to the brig and return with your clothes.”
In ten minutes Edgar was on board again, having explained to the astonished captain that he was going as interpreter on board the British ship. As soon as he stepped on deck again orders were shouted, the sails trimmed, and the Tigre proceeded on her way. An officer came up to Edgar.
“What is your name, sir?”
“Edgar Blagrove, sir.”
“I remember the name,” the officer said. “I put into Alexandria some ten months ago to get some repairs done, and I remember that your father undertook them.” He beckoned to a lad of about the same age as Edgar. “Mr. Wilkinson,” he said, “you may take this young gentleman, Mr. Blagrove, down to the cockpit and introduce him to your messmates. He is entered on board the ship as a midshipman by Sir Sidney Smith’s orders.”
The midshipman took him below without a word. There were two other lads in the cabin.
“Allow me,” Edgar’s guide said with a theatrical flourish of the hand, “to introduce to you Mr. Blagrove, a fellow midshipman and messmate.”
“Really, Wilkinson, one never knows whether you are in earnest or playing the fool,” growled one of the others, who was a master’s mate some nineteen years old.
“On the present occasion I am in earnest, Mr. Condor,” Wilkinson replied.
“Where did he spring from?”
“He has just come on board from that little brig that we made lie to just now.”
“I come from Alexandria,” Edgar said quietly.
“From Alexandria!” Condor repeated in surprise, for he had not been on deck when the Italian captain had answered the hail.
“I was accidentally left behind when most of the English inhabitants left when the French ships came in sight.”
“What did they do to you? Have you been in prison ever since?”
“Fortunately they never laid hands on me. A sheik of one of the Arab tribes was a friend of mine, and I have been staying with him ever since.”
“How did you make them understand what you wanted?”
“I can talk Arabic as well as I can English,” Edgar replied.
“Still you must have felt it awfully slow stopping at an Arab camp all this time.”
“It has not been by any means slow. The tribe harassed the French on their march. We were present at the battle of the Pyramids, though we did not take any active part in it; for when the Mamelukes were defeated the Arabs knew that alone they had no chance of success. Then we came down to the place where they generally encamp, some twelve miles from Alexandria, and I had the good luck to see Nelson’s fleet destroy the French in Aboukir Bay.”
“That was luck!” Wilkinson said warmly. “I would have given anything to have been in that fight.”
“You are taking late to the sea,” the midshipman who had not yet spoken remarked.
“I have no intention of taking to the sea for good,” Edgar replied. “My father has one of the largest businesses in Alexandria, and as soon as the French leave Egypt I shall go back there. Sir Sidney Smith asked me to come, as I talk French and Italian as well as Arabic, and he thought that I should be useful to him as an interpreter, and said he would rate me as a midshipman. I was very glad to accept, as I should have nothing particular to do if I had gone home, and I thought that it would be far more pleasant to have two or three years of active service.”
“Have you been in England?” Wilkinson asked.
“Yes, I was there nearly three years, and only returned a few months before the French landed.”
“Well, it seems a rum start,” Condor said, “but I suppose Sir Sidney knows what he is doing.”
“I should imagine he did,” Edgar said quietly. “Possibly, if you like to question him he will be good enough to explain the matter to your satisfaction.”
“Look here, youngster!” Condor growled. “You have come in here as a midshipman, and let me tell you that whether a fellow is an interpreter or not we don’t allow cheek here.”
“But you allow rudeness, eh?” Edgar said quietly. “I am new to ship’s manners, but at school, anyhow, a fellow was just as likely to get thrashed for rudeness as he was for cheek.”
“Come, Condor,” Wilkinson said, as the master’s mate sprang to his feet, “you won’t do yourself any good by quarrelling with a fellow who has just come on board. He has certainly said nothing offensive to you. Moreover, it is quite possible that the captain may want to ask him questions about Egypt, and if he had any marks on the face you may be pretty sure you would get such a wigging that you would never want another, and possibly you might never have a chance of getting one.”
“Very well,” Condor said, sitting down again, “you are safe for a day or two; but mind, the first time I get an opportunity I will give you the soundest thrashing that you ever had.”
“I am sorry that it must be postponed,” Edgar said quietly, “but I daresay it will keep.”
“Come on deck, Blagrove,” Wilkinson said, putting his arm into that of Edgar. “He is an ill-tempered brute,” he went on as soon as they had left the cockpit. “He only passed his examination a week before we sailed, and we all heartily wish that he had failed. He is a regular bully, and as none of us are older than I am he has pretty well his own way, for he is a strong chap, and, as I heard from a fellow who sailed with him, knows how to use his fists, and none of us would have any chance with him. It is a great nuisance, for we should all be very pleasant together if it were not for him. However, I don’t expect he will dare touch you, for the captain may, at any time, want you to put questions to craft he may overhaul, and Condor would certainly get it hot if he found out that he had been interfering with you.”
Edgar smiled.
“I can assure you that I do not want the captain’s assistance in the matter. Boxing is a branch of my education which has not been neglected, and I fancy that Mr. Condor will not find that he has it all his own way.”
“Well, if you could lick him we should all regard you as a benefactor, Blagrove; but I am afraid you will find him a great deal too strong and heavy for you.”
“Well, we shall see, as he says, on the first opportunity. I don’t think that I am at all a quarrelsome chap, but I am certainly not going to put up with being bullied by a fellow like that.”
At this moment the boatswain came up. “Mr. Blagrove,” he said, “I have the first lieutenant’s orders to take you to the tailor to be measured for your uniform—an undress suit, he said. The tailor can manage that, but you will have to get the rest of your kit later on.”
“You will find me on deck, Blagrove,” Wilkinson said, as Edgar followed the boatswain, who led the way to the lower deck, where, by the light of a couple of lanterns, two or three tailors were at work.
“Hall, the first lieutenant’s orders are that you are to measure this young gentleman for a midshipman’s undress uniform, and you are to put everything else by and push it forward.”
“Very well,” the man replied. “It makes no odds to me what I does first. I doubt whether the first lieutenant will be pleased to-morrow; he tore his trousers yesterday, and sent them down to me to be mended.”
“Well, one of your hands can finish that,” the boatswain said. “Anyhow, you have got to do this suit, or you will hear of it.”
Edgar was measured for his uniform by the head tailor, who was a cockney who had been carried off by the press-gang. It was soon found that he was of no use as a sailor, but as he was by trade a tailor he was given a rating below, and it was not long before he gave such satisfaction that he was made chief of the little party employed on that work.
Returning on deck Edgar rejoined Wilkinson, and was introduced by him to several other midshipmen, who were all predisposed to like him, as Wilkinson had informed them of his little encounter with Condor, and of his readiness to fight the bully of the mess. This was considered, however, a sign of pluck rather than wisdom, and one of them expressed the general sentiment when he said, “You see he has been brought up among these Egyptian chaps, who have no idea whatever of fighting. He may have licked some of them easily, and that may have made him think he can fight; he will find the difference when he stands up against a fellow like Condor.”
The first lieutenant presently sent for Edgar to come to the quarter-deck.
“I quite understand, Mr. Blagrove, that although you are given a midshipman’s rating, it is really as an interpreter that Sir Sidney Smith has engaged you. Would you wish to perform midshipman’s duties also? I have asked him what are his wishes in the matter, and he left it entirely with you, saying that the very nominal pay of a midshipman was really no remuneration for the services of a gentleman capable of interpreting in three or four languages, but that as the rules of the service made no provision for the engagement of an interpreter, except under special circumstances, and as you said that you did not think it likely you should make the sea your profession, you might not care to undertake midshipman’s duties in addition to those of interpreter.”
“Thank you, sir; but I should certainly wish to learn my duties as midshipman, and to take my share in all work. My duties as interpreter must be generally very light, and I should find the time hang heavily on my hands if I had nothing else to do. I hope, therefore, sir, that you will put me to work, and have me taught my duty just as if I had joined in the regular way.”
“Very well, Mr. Blagrove, I think that you are right. I will put you in the starboard watch. I am sure that Mr. Bonnor, the third lieutenant, will be glad to keep a special eye on you. Do you understand anything about handling a boat?”
“Yes, sir. I have been accustomed to sailing, rowing, and steering as long as I can remember.”
“That is something gained at any rate. Do you know the names of the various ropes and sheets?”
“I do in a vessel of ordinary size, sir. I was so often on board craft that were in my father’s hands for repair that I learned a good deal about them, and at any rate can trust myself to go aloft.”
“Well, Mr. Wilkinson is in your watch, and as I put you in his charge to start with, I will tell him to act as your instructor in these matters. Please ask him to step here.
“Mr. Wilkinson,” he went on, as the midshipman came up, “I shall be obliged if you will do what you can to assist Mr. Blagrove in learning his duties. He has been knocking about among boats and merchant craft since his childhood, and already knows a good deal about them; but naturally there is much to learn in a ship like this. You will, of course, keep your watches as usual at night, but I shall request Mr. Bonnor to release you from all other duties for the present, in order that you may assist Mr. Blagrove in learning the names and uses of all the ropes, and the ordinary routine of his duty. He will, of course, attend the master’s class in navigation. There will be no occasion for him to go through the whole routine of a freshly-joined lad in other respects; but he must learn cutlass and musketry drill from the master-at-arms, and to splice and make ordinary knots from the boatswain’s mate. Thank you, that will do for the present.”
Lieutenant Bonnor came up to Wilkinson a few minutes later, and told him that he was to consider himself relieved from all general duties at present.
“I hope you won’t find this a nuisance, Wilkinson,” Edgar said.
“Not at all,” the other laughed; “quite the contrary. It gets one off of all sorts of disagreeable routine work, and as you know something about it to begin with, I have no doubt that you will soon pick up your work. A lot of the things that one has to learn when one first joins are not of much use aft
erwards, and may not have to be done once a year. However, I can lend you books, and if you really want to pick up all the words of command you can study them when you have nothing else to do; and I can tell you there are plenty of times when one is rather glad to have something to amuse one; when one is running with a light wind aft, like this, for instance, we may go on for days without having to touch a sail. Well, we will begin at once. We won’t go aloft till you have got your togs; a fellow going aloft in landsmen’s clothes always looks rather a duffer. Now, let us see what you know about things.”
As the names of the halliards, sheets, and tacks are the same in any square-rigged vessel, Edgar answered all questions readily, and it was only the precise position assigned to each on deck that he had to learn, so that, even on the darkest night, he could at once lay hands on them without hesitation; and in the course of a couple of days he knew these as well as his instructor. On the third morning he put on his midshipman’s clothes for the first time.
“You are a great deal stronger fellow than I should have taken you for,” Wilkinson said, as he watched him dressing. “You have a tremendous lot of muscle on the shoulders and arms, and on the back too.”
“I took a lot of exercise when I was at school in England,” Edgar replied, “and I have been accustomed to riding ever since I was a boy, and for the last five months have almost lived in the saddle. I have done a good deal of rowing too, for I have had the use of a boat as long as I can remember. Of course, I have done a lot of bathing and swimming—you see, the water is so warm that one can stay in it for a long time, and one can bathe all the year round. I cannot even remember being taught to swim, I suppose it came naturally to me. I am sure that my father would never have let me go out in boats as I used to do if he had not known that I was as much at home in the water as out of it.”