By Conduct and Courage Part 28

"At any rate, Dimchurch, our best course will be to lower the sail, shake the reef-points out, and have it ready for hoisting at a moment's notice.

Now that the wind is light again I should fancy we could get away from her; with a start of two or three miles she would have no chance whatever of catching us."

Suddenly Tom Stevens exclaimed:

"There is a sail coming up from behind. She looks to me close-hauled. If both ships come on they are bound to meet; if one is French and the other is English they are likely to have a talk to each other. In that case we should be able to tell friend from foe by the colours, and could then make for the English ship."

They sat anxiously watching the two ships, and soon they saw that the point of meeting must be very near their own position. Presently their hulls became visible, and Dimchurch p.r.o.nounced one to be a thirty-two-gun frigate, and the other a forty or forty-two. They then made out that the one coming up from the south was flying the white ensign, and at once they hoisted their sail and made for her. Equally intent upon a fight, the two vessels approached each other without paying the slightest attention to the little craft.

"The Frenchman means fighting, and as he has ten guns to the good he may well think he is more than a match for our ship. Do you know her, Dimchurch?"

"I think she is the _Lysander_, sir, though I can't be sure; there are so many of these thirty-twos."

The vessels, as they pa.s.sed, exchanged broadsides. Then both tacked, but the Englishman was the quicker, and he raked the French frigate as she came round. Then they went at it hammer and tongs. The Frenchman suffered very heavily in spars and rigging, but at last the foremast of the English ship fell over her side. The Frenchman at once closed with her, and after pouring in a broadside, tried to board her.

The little boat bore up to the stern of the English ship. A desperate conflict was going on at that point, and failing to get up they moved along the side. Here a rope, which had been cut by the French fire, was hanging overboard, and, grasping this, they climbed up to a port-hole. The deck was deserted, all hands having rushed up to meet the attack of the French boarders. Without a moment's delay they s.n.a.t.c.hed cutla.s.ses from a rack and ran up the companion to the upper deck.

Here things were going somewhat badly. The French were much more numerous than the English, and were forcing them back by sheer weight of numbers.

The new-comers rushed at once into the fray, and laid about them l.u.s.tily.

The force and suddenness of the onslaught caused the enemy to hesitate, and at the same time it had the effect of inspiring to fresh efforts the English crew, who, having lost their captain and first lieutenant, were beginning to lose heart. They answered the cheers of their strangely-clad allies, and with one accord charged to meet them. At that moment Dimchurch almost severed the French captain's head from his body by a sweeping blow, and the French, being disheartened by the loss of their leader, gave way.

The English sailors redoubled their efforts, and after ten minutes of desperate fighting succeeded in driving their foes back to their own ship.

Then the men ran to their guns again and the cannonade recommenced. But the spirit of the two crews had changed. The French were discouraged by their failure, and the British were exultant over their success.

Consequently the guns of the English ship were fired with far more rapidity and precision than those of the French. Several of the port-holes of the French ship were knocked into one, and when at last her mainmast, which had been hit several times, fell over her side, her flag was run down amidst tremendous cheering from the English ship.

Immediately all hands were engaged in disarming and securing the French prisoners. When these had been sent below, the decks of both ships were cleared of the dead. Then the bulk of the crew set to work to cut away the wreckage, secure damaged spars, and stop holes near the water's edge. At last the second lieutenant, who was now in command, had time to turn to the strangers. Will was superintending the work, while Dimchurch and Tom were working hand in hand with the crew.

"May I ask," said the lieutenant, addressing Will, "who it is that has so mysteriously come to our a.s.sistance?"

"Certainly," said Will, laughing; "I had quite forgotten that I am clothed in strange garments. I am a midshipman belonging to the _Tartar_. One of my companions is a boatswain's mate, and the other is an A.B. on the same ship. We were sent with a lieutenant and ten men to overhaul a craft which, though she was somewhat suspicious looking, seemed to have but a small crew. When we got alongside her, however, we found to our disgust that she was manned by at least a hundred Algerines. The lieutenant and seven of the crew were killed, and three others, my two companions, and myself were made prisoners and carried to Algiers. We three escaped, and, capturing the small craft which you will see lying by the side of your ship, made for the open sea. An Algerine nearly recaptured us in the gale yesterday, but fortunately she carried away her mast and we again escaped.

This morning we saw two ships approaching us, and when we made out their nationalities we knew there was bound to be a fight. Naturally we made for your ship, and when we found that the French had boarded you we did our best to aid you to drive them back. My name is Gilmore."

"Well, Mr. Gilmore, I have to thank you most heartily for the very efficacious aid you have rendered us. Things were going very badly, but your unexpected appearance, your strange attire, and the strength and bravery with which you fought, quite turned the tables. I think," he said with a laugh, "the French must have taken you for three devils come to our a.s.sistance, and certainly you could not have fought harder if you had been. You will, I hope, give us your a.s.sistance until we reach Malta, to which port, of course, I shall carry the prize. Our third lieutenant is severely wounded, and I have lost two of my midshipmen."

"Certainly, sir, and I will place myself at once under your orders."

"The two midshipmen who have fallen were the seniors," the lieutenant said, "and as you must be two or three years older than the others I'll appoint you acting-lieutenant. Our first duty here will be to rig up a jury foremast. I'll appoint you, however, temporary commander of the _Camille_, which is, I see, the name of our prize. I can only spare you forty men. We have lost forty-three killed and at least as many wounded, and I have therefore only a hundred and ten altogether fit for service, and must retain seventy for the work of refitting. I should not attempt to get up a jury mainmast on the _Camille_. It will be better to clear away the wreckage and secure her other two masts in case we meet with another squall."

"I understand, sir. If either of the midshipmen that have been killed is about my size, I should be glad to rig myself out with a suit from his chest, for my appearance at present is rather undignified for a British officer. I should also be glad if the purser's clerk would issue a couple of suits for my two men. I may tell you that they have been with me in every ship in which I have served, and indeed entered the navy with me. I therefore regard them quite as personal friends. The bigger of the two held the position of boatswain under me in a small craft of which I had command in the West Indies, as well as on the _Tartar_."

"Very well, then, by all means give him the temporary rank of boatswain on board the _Camille_, and you can appoint the other as boatswain's mate."

"Thank you, sir! I am very much obliged. It would be difficult to find two better men."

In ten minutes Will was attired in a midshipman's uniform, and his two companions, to their great relief, in the clothes of British seamen. They then crossed to the _Camille_ with the forty men whom the lieutenant had told off as a prize crew. Work was at once begun, and before sundown the fore and mizzen masts were as firmly secured as if the mainmast were still in its place. Will felt that they could now meet a storm without uneasiness. Next morning the repairs to the hull were begun, pieces of plank covered with tarred canvas being nailed over the shot-holes, and ere the day was done the _Camille_ had a fairly presentable appearance.

Meanwhile the crew of the _Lysander_ had been hard at work, and had got the jury-foremast into position and securely stayed.

"You have made a very good job of the prize, Mr. Gilmore," the lieutenant said. "Of course she is a lame duck without her mainmast, but we'll sail together, and so will show a good face to any single ship we may meet."

"I should certainly think so, sir. Should any ship heave in sight I will get all the guns loaded on both broadsides. Of course, I should only be able to work one side at a time, but with forty good men I could keep up a pretty hot fire."

"I will give you ten more, Mr. Gilmore. Now that our repairs are finished I can manage that easily, and as the _Camille_ is a bigger ship than the _Lysander_ you ought certainly to have as many as can be spared."

"Thank you, sir! I am sure I could make a good fight with that number, and as we have covered all the shot-holes with canvas, and so do not appear to be injured in the hull, I don't think any one ship would think of meddling with us, unless, of course, she were a line-of-battle ship. In that case our chance would be a small one, although, by presenting a resolute front, we might cause her to sheer off without engaging us."

Fortunately they fell in with no enemy on their way to Malta. When they arrived in port the lieutenant went to the flag-ship with his report. The admiral was greatly pleased at the capture, and he was specially interested when he learned the share that Will and his two companions had taken in the fight, and the manner in which Will had performed his duties while in command of the _Camille_.

"Gilmore?" he asked. "That is the name of a young midshipman who was on board the _Furious_. Is that the man?"

"I believe he is, sir."

"Well, tell him to come and see me when he is disengaged."

The lieutenant reported this when he returned, and a little later Will went on board the flag-ship.

"Well, Mr. Gilmore," said the admiral, "so you are still to the fore. I read some time ago the official report of a midshipman of your name in the West Indies who had captured two vessels, each larger than the craft he commanded, and I wondered whether it was the lad I had met here."

Will acknowledged that he had commanded on that occasion.

"It shows that the admiral there was as struck as I was myself with your doings, that he should have appointed you to command that craft, when he must have had so many senior midshipmen to select from. What had you done?"

"It was really nothing, sir. We were lying off a pirate stronghold, but could not get at it, as our ship was too deep for the shallow approaches.

In the course of conversation in the midshipmen's mess I happened to suggest that if we got hold of some native craft we might be able to beard the lion in his den, and one of the elder midshipmen reported the idea to one of the lieutenants, who pa.s.sed it on to the captain, who put it into execution. The result was that we captured two vessels and a very large amount of plunder which they had stored on an island. I got a great deal more credit than was due to me, for I had only suggested the plan when joking with my companions, and the captain improved upon it greatly in carrying it out. It was very good of him to mention in his report that the original idea was mine."

"It was a good plan," the admiral said, "and you well deserve the credit you got. And so it was for that that you got the command of the cutter!

Tell me about the capture of those two pirate vessels."

Will related the story of the trap that had been formed for _L'Agile_, and the manner in which he had captured his two opponents.

"Admirably managed, Mr. Gilmore," the admiral said. "How much longer have you to serve?"

"I have another year yet, sir."

"Well, a commission is to sit here next week to pa.s.s midshipmen. I will direct them to examine you, and will see that you get your step the day you finish your term of service. If I had the power I would pa.s.s you at once, but that is one of the things an admiral cannot do. But how was it that you got on board the _Lysander_?"

Will related the story of his captivity with the Algerines and his escape.

"Just what I should have expected of you," the admiral said. "I fancy it would take a very strong prison to hold you. Well, tell Lieutenant Hea.r.s.ey that I shall expect him to dinner to-day, and that he is to bring you with him. I'll ask two or three other officers to meet you, and you shall then tell the story of your adventures."

A post-captain and three other captains dined that evening with the admiral, and when Will had modestly related his adventures they complimented him highly. Two of them happened to be on the examining committee, and consequently Will pa.s.sed almost without question. A few days later he was appointed temporarily to a ship bound for the blockading fleet of Toulon, where he was informed he would probably find his own ship. When he and his two companions rejoined the _Tartar_ they were warmly congratulated on their escape from Algiers.

"I am sorry for the loss of Lieutenant Saxton," the captain said, when Will had reported the manner in which they had been captured. "He was a good officer, and in this case he was not to blame. With our telescopes we could only see a few men on board the Algerine, and they must have kept up the deception till the last. It is to be regretted that you followed her so far out of reach of our guns, though, so far as his fate was concerned, we could not have altered it even if we had been within easy range.

"At any rate, Mr. Gilmore, you were by no means to blame in the affair, and I congratulate you on having effected your escape with your two followers."

They had only rejoined the _Tartar_ a short time when, on the 5th February, 1794, the captain was signalled to proceed with a small squadron that was to sail, under Captain Linzee of the _Alcide_, as commodore, to Corsica, where a force under General Paoli had asked for a.s.sistance in their endeavours to regain their freedom.

The chief strongholds of that island were the fortified towns of San Fiorenzo, Bastia, and Calvi. These towns are near each other, and as the troops scornfully rejected his summons to surrender, the commodore was placed in a difficulty. The force under his command was not strong enough to blockade the three forts at once, while they were so near each other that to blockade one or two and leave the entrance to the other open would have been useless. He determined at first to take Forneilli, a fortified place two miles from San Fiorenzo, but when he opened the attack he found that it was so much more strongly fortified than he had antic.i.p.ated that its capture could not be effected without more loss than the gain of the position would justify.

Lord Hood then placed a squadron of frigates under Captain Nelson's command to cruise off the north-western coast of the island so as to prevent supplies being introduced, and he also sailed there himself with some of his seventy-fours and a body of soldiers under Major-general Dundas. Before he arrived, Nelson had done something towards facilitating his enterprise, for, having learned that the French in San Fiorenzo drew their supplies of flour from a mill near the sh.o.r.e, he landed a body of seamen and soldiers and burnt the mill, threw into the sea all the flour contained in it and in a large storehouse close to it, and regained his ship without the loss of a man.