Held Fast For England Part 34

The captain shook his head.

"You might go on board some ship, if one brings up at anchor anywhere near us, Bob. If you got detected, there, we would take her and rescue you. But that is a different thing to letting you go ash.o.r.e."

Presently the sails of two fishing boats were seen, coming out from beyond a low point, three miles to the east.

"I suppose there is a fishing village, there," the mate said. "I am glad they are no nearer."

He examined the boats with a gla.s.s.

"They are working out with sweeps. I expect they hope to get a little wind, when they are in the offing."

Just as they were at breakfast the second mate, who was on deck, called down the skylight:

"There are three craft to the west, sir. They have just come out from behind the point there. They are bringing a little breeze with them."

"What are they like, Mr. Crofts?"

"One is a polacre, another a xebec, and the third looks like a full-rigged craft; but as she is end on, I can't say for certain."

"All right, Mr. Crofts! I will be up in five minutes. We can do nothing until we get the wind, anyhow."

Breakfast was speedily finished, and they went on deck. The Spanish flag was already flying from the peak. The three craft were about two miles away.

"How are they sailing, Mr. Crofts?"

"I fancy the xebec is the fastest, sir. She was astern just now, and she is abreast of the polacre now, as near as I can make out.

The ship, or brig--whichever it is--seems to me to be dropping astern."

"Heave away at the anchor, Joe. Get in all the slack, so as to be ready to hoist, as soon as the breeze reaches us. I don't want them to come up to us. The line they are taking, now, will carry them nearly half a mile outside us, which is fortunate. Run in six of the guns, and throw a tarpaulin over the eighteen pounder. Three guns, on each side, are about enough for us to show."

The breeze caught them when the three Spanish craft were nearly abeam.

"They have more wind, out there, than we shall have here," the captain said; "which is an advantage, for I don't want to run away from them.

"Now, get up the anchor, Joe. Don't take too many hands."

The watch below had already been ordered to sit down on the deck, and half the other watch were now told to do the same.

"Twelve or fourteen hands are quite enough to show," the captain said.

"The anchor's up, sir," Joe shouted.

"Let it hang there. We will get it aboard, presently.

"Now haul that fore-staysail across, ease off the spanker sheet.

"Now, as she comes round, haul on the braces and sheets, one by one. Do it in as lubberly a way as you can."

The brig, which had been riding with her head to the west, came slowly round; the yards being squared in a slow fashion, in strong contrast to the active way in which they were generally handled.

The captain watched the other craft, carefully.

"The xebec and polacre are gaining on us, but we are going as fast through the water as the three master. When we get the wind a little more, we shall have the heels of them all.

"Get a sail overboard, Joe, and tow it under her port quarter.

Don't give her too much rope, or they might catch sight of it, on board the ship. That will bring us down to her rate of sailing.

"I want to keep a bit astern of them. We dare not attack them in the daylight; they mount too many guns for us, altogether. That big fellow has got twelve on a side, the polacre has eight, and the xebec six, so between them they have fifty-two guns. We might try it, if they were well out at sea; but it would never do, here.

There may be galleys or gunboats within hearing, so we must bide our time.

"I think we are in luck, this time, Joe. That ship must have come foreign; at least, I should say so by her appearance, though she may be from Cadiz. As to the other two, they may be anything. The xebec, no doubt, is a coast trader. The polacre may be one thing, or another, but I should hardly think she has come across the Atlantic. Likely enough she is from Bilbao or Santander. The ship is the fellow to get hold of, if we get a chance. I shall be quite content to leave the others alone."

"I should think so," Joe agreed. "The ship ought to be a valuable prize, wherever she comes from. If she is sound, and pretty new, she would fetch a good sum, if we can get her into an English port."

The wind continued to hold light, and the four vessels made but slow progress through the water. The two leaders, however, gradually improved their position. They were nearly matched, in point of sailing; and their captains were evidently making a race of it, hoisting every st.i.tch of canvas they were able to show. By the afternoon they were fully two miles ahead of the ship, which was half a mile on the starboard bow of the brig.

The wind died away to nothing, as the sun set. The three Spanish vessels had all been edging in towards sh.o.r.e, and the polacre anch.o.r.ed just before sunset. The ship held on for another hour, but was a mile astern of the other two when she, also, dropped her anchor.

The sail, that had been towing overboard from the brig, had been got on board again when the wind began to drop; and she had come up to within little more than a quarter of a mile of the ship. The anchor was let go, as soon as it was seen that the crew of the ship were preparing to anchor, so that the brig should be first to do so. Whether there had been any suspicions, on board the Spaniards, as to the character of the brig, they could not tell but, watching her closely, Captain Lockett saw that the order to anchor was countermanded, as soon as it was seen that the brig had done so.

A few minutes after the men again went forward, and the anchor was dropped; for the vessel was making no way whatever, through the water.

"Well, Joe, there we are, close to her, now. The question is, what are we to do next? If there was any wind, it would be simple enough. We would drop alongside, in the middle watch; and carry her by boarding, before the Dons had time to get out of their hammocks.

But as it is, that is out of the question and, of course, we can't think of towing her up. On such a still night as this will be, they would hear the slightest noise."

"We might attack her in the boats," the mate said.

"Yes, that would be possible; but their watch would hear the oars, the instant we began to row. You see, by the number of guns she carries, she must be strongly manned."

"I expect most of them are small," Joe said, "and meant for show, rather than use. It is likely enough she may have taken half of them on board at Cadiz, or Malaga, so as to give her a formidable appearance, in case she should fall in with any craft of our description. If she has come across the Atlantic, she would never have carried anything like that number of guns, for Spain was not at war with anyone."

"No; but craft flying the black flag are still to be found in those waters, Joe, and she might carry her guns for defence against them.

But it is not a question of guns, at present, it is a question of the crew. It isn't likely that she carries many more than we do and, if we could but get alongside her, there would be no fear about it, at all; but I own I don't like the risk of losing half my men, in an attack on a craft like that, unless we can have the advantage of a surprise."

"What do you say to my swimming off to her, as soon as it gets quite dark, captain?" Bob said. "I am a very good swimmer. We used to bathe regularly at Putney, where I was at school; and I have swum across the Thames and back, lots of times. There is sure to be a little mist on the water, presently, and they won't be keeping a very sharp lookout till it gets later. I can get hold of a cable and climb up; and get in over the bow, if there is no lookout there, and see what is going on. There is no danger in the thing for, if I am discovered, I have only got to dive and swim back again. There is no current to speak of, here; and there wouldn't be the least chance of their hitting me, in the dark. I should certainly be able to learn something, by listening to their talk."

"It would be a very risky thing, Bob," Captain Lockett said, shaking his head. "I shouldn't like to let you do it; though of course it would be a great thing, if we could learn something about her. I own I don't like her appearance, though I can't say why.

Somehow or other, I don't think she is all right. Either all those guns are a mere pretence, and she is weak handed, or she must carry a very big crew."

"Well, I don't see there can be any possible harm in my trying to get on board her, captain. Of course, if I am hailed as I approach her, I shall turn and come back again. The night will be dark, but I shall have no difficulty in finding her, from the talking and noise on board.

"Well, Joe, what do you think?" the captain said, doubtfully.

"I think you might let Bob try," Joe said. "I should not mind trying at all but, as I can't speak Spanish, I should be able to learn nothing. They are not likely to be setting a watch, and keeping a sharp lookout, for some time; and I should think that he might, possibly, get on board un.o.bserved. If they do make him out, he has only to keep on diving and, in the dark, there would be little chance of their hitting him. Besides, they certainly couldn't make out that it was a swimmer. If they noticed a ripple in the water, they would be sure to think it was a fish of some sort."

Bob continued to urge that he should be allowed to try it and, at last, Captain Lockett agreed to his doing so. It was already almost dark enough for the attempt to be made, and Bob prepared at once for the swim. He took off his coat, waistcoat, and shirt; and put on a dark knitted jersey, fastened a belt tightly round his waist, over his breeches, and took off his shoes.

"If I am seen," he said, "you are sure to hear them hailing, or shouting; and then please show a lantern over the stern," for, slight as the current was, it sufficed to make the vessel swing head to west.