Held Fast For England Part 36

"There is more of it, here, than we had insh.o.r.e. I should say there must be nearly a knot an hour, which will take us a good distance away from those gentlemen, before morning.

"Now, Bob, you had better have a gla.s.s of grog, and then turn in.

Joe will excuse you keeping watch, tonight."

"Oh, I feel all right!" Bob said. "The water was quite warm, and I slipped down and changed my clothes, directly they left off firing."

"Never mind, you turn in as you are told. You have done us good service, tonight; and have earned your keep on board the brig, if you were to stop here till she fell to pieces of old age."

When Bob went up in the morning, at five o'clock, the three Spanish vessels were still lying at anchor under the land, seven or eight miles away.

"There is a breeze coming," Joe said, "and it is from the south, so we shall get it long before they do. We shall see no more of them."

As soon as the breeze reached them, the sails were braced aft; and the brig kept as close to the wind as she would sail, lying almost directly off from the land.

"I want them to think that we are frightened," Captain Lockett said, in answer to a question from Bob as to the course, "and that we have decided to get away from their neighbourhood, altogether. I expect they are only going as far as Alicante. We will run on till we are well out of sight, then hold on for the rest of the day east and, in the night, head for land again, beyond Alicante. It would never do to risk those fellows coming upon us, again, when we are quietly at anchor. We might not be so lucky, next time."

An hour later the lookout in the top hailed the deck, and said that there was a sail in sight.

"What does she look like, Halkett?" Joe Lockett shouted, for the captain was below.

"As far as I can make out she is a two master--I should say, a brig."

"How is she heading?"

"About northeast, sir. I should say, if we both hold on our courses, she will pa.s.s ahead of us."

The captain was now on deck, and he and the first mate went up to the top.

"Starboard your helm a bit!" the captain shouted, after examining the distant sail through his telescope. "Keep her about east."

"What do you think she is, captain?" Bob asked, when the two officers came down again to the p.o.o.p.

"I should say that she was a craft about our own size, Bob; and I fancy she has come through the Straits, keeping well over the other side, so as to avoid our cruisers from Gib; and is now heading for Alicante. Now we are on our course again, parallel to the coast, there is no reason why she should suspect us of being anything but a trader. If she doesn't take the alarm, I hope we shall be alongside her in a few hours."

Chapter 11: Cutting Out A Prize.

The distant sail was anxiously watched from the Antelope. It closed in with them fast, running almost before the wind. In two hours, her hull could be seen from the deck.

Efforts had been made, by slacking the ropes and altering the set of the sails, to give the brig as slovenly an appearance as possible. The guns had been run in and the portholes closed and, as the Spaniard approached, the crew--with the exception of five or six men--were ordered to keep below the bulwarks.

The course that the Spaniard was taking would have brought her just under the stern of the Antelope when, suddenly, she was seen to change her course, and to bear up into the wind.

"Too late, my lady," the captain said; "you have blundered on too long.

"There is something in our cut that she doesn't like. Haul down that Spanish flag, and run the Union Jack up.

"Open ports, lads, and show them our teeth. Fire that bow gun across her forefoot!"

The guns were already loaded; and as soon as they were run out a shot was fired, as a message to the Spaniard to heave to. A minute later, as she paid no attention, a broadside followed. Three of the shots went crashing into the side of the Spaniard, and one of her boats was smashed.

A moment later the Spanish flag fluttered down, and a hearty cheer broke from the crew of the Antelope. The Spaniard was thrown up into the wind and, in a few minutes, the brig ranged up alongside, within pistol shot. The gig was lowered; and the captain rowed alongside her, taking Bob with him as interpreter.

The prize proved to be a brig, of about the same tonnage as the Antelope. She was from Cadiz, bound first to Alicante, and then to Valencia. She carried only six small guns, and a crew of eighteen men. Her cargo consisted of grain and olive oil.

"Not a bad prize," Captain Lockett said, as Bob read out the items of her bill of lading. "It is a pity that it is not full up, instead of only half laden. Still, it is not a bad beginning; and the craft herself is of a handy size and, if she won't sell at Gibraltar, will pay very well to take on to England. I should say she was fast."

An hour later the two brigs parted company, the second mate and twelve hands being placed on board the Spaniard. There was some discussion as to the prisoners, but it was finally agreed to leave them on board their ship.

"Keep them down in the hold, Mr. Crofts. See that you don't leave any knives with them. Keep a couple of sentries over the hatchway.

If the wind holds, you will be in the bay by tomorrow evening. Keep pretty well insh.o.r.e, and slip in as close to the point as you can.

If you do that, you need not have much fear of their gunboats.

"I don't suppose the authorities will want to keep the prisoners, but of course you will report them on your arrival; and can give them one of the boats, to land across the bay, if they are not wanted. If the governor wants to buy the cargo for the garrison, let him have it, at once. Don't stand out for exorbitant terms, but take a fair price. It is just as well to be on good terms with the authorities. We might have to put in to refit, and want spars, etc., from the naval yard. If the governor doesn't want the cargo, don't sell it to anyone else till we return. There is no fear of prices going down. The longer we keep it, the more we shall get for it."

"Hadn't I better bring the ship's papers on board with us, Captain Lockett?"

"What for, Bob? I don't see that they would be any use to us, and the bills of lading will be useful for selling the cargo."

"I can copy them, sir, for Mr. Crofts.

"What I thought was this: the brig is just our own size and, if we should get becalmed anywhere near the sh.o.r.e, and a boat put off, we might possibly be able to pa.s.s, with her papers."

"That is a capital idea, Bob; capital! I will have a bit of canvas painted 'Alonzo, Cadiz,' in readiness to nail over our stern, should there be any occasion for it.

"Well, goodbye Mr. Crofts, and a safe journey to you. I needn't tell you to keep a sharp lookout."

"You may trust us for that, sir. We have no desire to rot in one of their prisons, till the end of the war."

The captain's gig took him back to the Antelope. The weather sheets of the fore-staysail were eased off, and the square sails swung round. As they drew, the two brigs got under way, heading in exactly opposite directions.

Before nightfall the captain p.r.o.nounced that they were now abreast of Alicante and, under easy sail, the vessel's head was turned towards the land; and the next morning she was running along the sh.o.r.e, at a distance of three miles. Beyond fishing boats, and small craft hugging the land, nothing was met with, until they neared Cartagena. Then the sound of firing was heard ahead and, on rounding a headland, they saw a vessel of war chasing some five or six craft, nearer insh.o.r.e.

"That is a British frigate," the captain exclaimed; "but I don't think she will get them. There is Cartagena only three or four miles ahead, and the frigate will not be able to cut them off, before they are under the guns of the batteries."

"They are not above a mile ahead of her," the first mate said. "If we could knock away a spar, with our long eighteen, we might get one of them."

"We shouldn't make much prize money, if we did, Joe; for the frigate would share and, as she has five or six times as many men and officers as we have got, it is not much we should get out of it.

"Hallo!" he broke out, as a shot came ricochetting along the water, "she is trying a shot at us. I forgot we had the Spanish colours up.

"Get that flag down, and run up the Union Jack, Joe."

"One moment, captain," Bob said.

"Well, what is it, Bob?"