Paddy Finn Part 12

"Our first action has not been a very glorious one," I observed, when most of the mess was once more a.s.sembled in the berth. "I made sure we should have captured one of those frigates."

"It has been a successful one, Paddy, and we should be content with that," said Nettleship. "If we had taken one of the enemy, we should be probably more knocked about than we are, and should have delayed the merchantmen, or allowed them to run the risk of being captured. Depend upon it, our captain will get credit for what he has done, and the credit he gets will be reflected on us."

The wind fortunately continued fair, the sea smooth, and by the time we sighted Jamaica we were again all ataunto. Having seen the greater part of our charge into Port Royal, and sent the wounded ash.o.r.e to the hospital, we stood on with the remainder of the merchantmen to Barbadoes and other islands, where we left them in safety, and then made our way back to Port Royal. We saluted the forts, and the forts saluted us; flags were flying, the sea glittering, and everything looked gay and bright as we entered that magnificent harbour.

"Shure it's a beautiful place this, Misther Terence," said Larry to me, as, the anchor being dropped, and the sails furled, we lay floating calmly on the placid waters. "There's only one place to my mind that beats this, and that's Cork harbour, though, to be sure, the mountains there are not so high, or the sky so blue as out here."

"Or the sun so hot, Larry," I remarked, "or the people so black. Did you ever see Irishmen like that?" and I pointed to a boat manned by negroes just coming alongside. Larry had never before seen a blackamoor, for, as may be supposed, Africans seldom found their way into Tipperary.

"Shure, your honour, is them Irishmen?" he asked.

"Speak to them, and you'll soon find out, and they'll tell you how long it has taken the sun to blacken their faces."

"Then, Misther Terence, shall we be after getting our faces painted of that colour if we stay out here?" he inquired with some trouble in the tone of his voice.

"Depend upon it, Larry, we shall if we stay long enough," I answered. I left Larry to reflect on the matter. I remembered a story I had heard of an Irishman who had gone out intending to settle in Demerara, where a large proportion of the white population have come from the Emerald Isle. As soon as the ship had dropped her anchor a number of blacks came off to her. The first he spoke to answered in a rich Irish brogue.

The new-comer looked at the negro with astonishment.

"What's your name, my man?" he asked. "Pat Casey," was the answer.

"And, Pat, say as you love me, how long have you been out here?"

"Little better than six years, your honour," was the reply, such being the time that had elapsed since the negro had been imported, having in the meantime had an Irish name given him, and learned to speak Irish.

"Six years, and you have turned from a white-skinned Irishman into a blackamoor!" exclaimed the new-comer; and not waiting for an answer, he rushed down into the cabin, which he could not be induced to quit until the ship sailed again, and he returned home, satisfied that the West Indies was not a country in which he could wish to take up his abode.

Not long after the conversation I have mentioned, Larry came up to me.

"I've been after talking, Misther Terence, with some of those black gentlemen, and shure if they're from the old country they've forgotten all about it, which no raal Irishman would ever do, I'll stake my davey!" he exclaimed. "They've never heard of Limerick, or Cork, or Waterford, or the Shannon, or Ballinahone, and that proves to me that they couldn't have been in the old country since they were born. And now, Misther Terence dear, you were joking shure," he added, giving me one of his comical looks.

"Well, Larry," I said, "it's a satisfaction to know that it will take us a long time to turn into n.i.g.g.e.rs, or to forget old Ireland."

As no one was near, I asked him how Dan Hoolan and the other pressed men were behaving.

"That's just what I wanted to be speaking to you about, Misther Terence," he answered. "I'm after thinking that they'll not be on board many days if they get a chance of slipping on sh.o.r.e. I heard them one day talking about it in Irish, forgetting that I understood what they were saying; and as we had a hand in the taking of them, says I to myself, we'll not let you go so aisy, my boys, and I'll be after telling Misther Terence about it."

"You have acted rightly, Larry," I answered. "It's the duty of every seaman to prevent mutiny or desertion, and if you hadn't told me the fellows might have got off, though, to be sure, the best of them are king's hard bargains."

I took an early opportunity of telling Mr Saunders.

"Thank you, my lad," he answered; "I'll take care that an eye is kept upon them."

Soon afterwards, while looking over the side, I saw a dark, triangular object gliding by at no great distance from the ship. It went about when it got under the stern, and appeared again on the other side. Mr Saunders saw it also.

"Lads," he said, "do you know what that is? You may have heard of Port Royal Jack. That's him. He's especially fond of seamen's legs, and if any of you were to go overboard, he'd snap you up in a minute."

The word was pa.s.sed along the deck. Half the crew were now in the rigging, taking a look at their enemy, and among them were Dan Hoolan and his companions. I observed a flesh-coloured ma.s.s floating a short distance off. Presently the black fin sank; a white object appeared for a moment close to the surface, and a huge mouth gulped down the ma.s.s, and disappeared with it beneath the water. It was a lesson to any one who might have attempted taking a swim to the sh.o.r.e.

CHAPTER TEN.

A FIGHT ASh.o.r.e.

I have not attempted to describe Port Royal Harbour. It is large enough to hold 1000 sail. The entrance is on the left side. A strip of sand, known as the Palisades, runs east and west with the town of Port Royal, surrounded with heavy batteries at the further end. Here are the dockyard and naval a.r.s.enal, and forts with heavy guns completely commanding the entrance.

At the eastern end stands Kingston, the commercial town, before which the merchantmen bring up, while the men-of-war ride at anchor nearer the mouth. A lofty range of hills, with valleys between them, rise beyond the northern sh.o.r.e. Altogether, it is a grand place, and especially grand it looked just now, filled with a fleet of ships and smaller men-of-war.

Our captain, with the second lieutenant, the captain of the _Amethyst_, and the commander of the corvette, went on sh.o.r.e, and were warmly welcomed by the merchants, who said that they had rendered them signal service in so gallantly protecting the convoy. They presented each of the commanders with a piece of plate and a sum of money, to show their grat.i.tude.

"I told you so," said Nettleship when we heard of it; "we did our duty on that occasion, though it was a hard trial to have to let the enemy escape," As we were likely to be detained a week to replace our fore-top mast, to repair other damages, and to get stores and fresh provisions on board, most of our mess by turns got leave to go on sh.o.r.e, where, down to Tom Pim, we were all made a great deal of by the planters and merchants. We were invited to breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, and dances every night. Most of our fellows lost their hearts to the dark-eyed Creoles, and Tom Pim confided to me that a lovely little damsel of fifteen had captured his.

"I didn't intend to strike to her, but I couldn't help it, for she blazed away at me with her smiles, and glances of her dark eyes, and her musical laughter, till I could stand them no longer, and I promised that when I become a commander I will return and marry her forthwith, if she will remain faithful to me."

"And what did she say?" I asked.

"She laughed more than ever, and inquired how long it was likely to be before I could get my promotion. When I said that it might be in five or six, or perhaps eight years, she remarked that that was a terrible long time to wait, and that though constancy was a very fine thing, it didn't do to try it too much."

Irishmen have susceptible hearts, I've heard, but I can't say that I lost mine to any one in particular.

We had altogether a very jolly time of it, which we enjoyed all the more because we knew that it must soon come to an end.

Tom Pim and I, who were inseparable, were at a party one evening, when a good-natured looking gentleman came up to us. "I see that you have been dancing with my little daughter Lucy," he said, addressing Tom. "May I ask your names, and the ship to which you belong?" We told him.

"She's not likely, I understand, to sail for some days, and if you can obtain leave I shall be very happy to see you at my country house, some few miles away from this," he said. "My name is Talboys, and as I'm well known to Captain Macnamara I'll write a note, which you can take on board, asking him or his first lieutenant to give you leave for a couple or three days,--the longer the better,--and to allow any other midshipmen who can be spared to accompany you."

"Thank you very much, sir," I answered; "but we have to return on board to-morrow morning by daylight, and I'm afraid that Mr Saunders won't be inclined to let us go ash.o.r.e again."

"There's nothing like asking," he observed; "and I think that he'll not refuse my request, so you had better try."

Taking us into an ante-room, he wrote the promised note, of which Tom Pim took charge. He told us, if we could obtain leave, to meet him at Mammy Custard's boarding-house, an establishment much frequented by midshipmen and other junior officers of the service. We had hitherto not slept on sh.o.r.e, but we knew the house well.

The ball was kept up to a late hour. As soon as it was over we repaired to the quay, where several boats were waiting to take off those who had to return to their ships.

Tom and I agreed that we had very little chance of getting leave, but that we should not refuse it if we did. The sky was clear as Nora Creina's eye; every star was reflected on the calm surface of the water in the harbour. We were all inclined to be jolly--officers and men.

Our tongues went rattling merrily on. Now and then there came a peal of laughter, now s.n.a.t.c.hes of songs. We had got more than half-way down the harbour when the officer in command sang out, "Mind your helm. Where are you coming to?"

At that instant we ran slap into a sh.o.r.e-boat pulled by negroes, and stove in her bows. Loud shrieks and cries arose from the black crew, who began to scramble into our boat,--the wisest thing they could do, considering that their own was sinking.

"Oh, we all drown! we all drown!" they cried in loud tones. "Jack shark catch me!"

The four blacks had saved themselves, but there were two pa.s.sengers in the stern-sheets who appeared to be less in a hurry to get on board.

Presently, however, finding the boat settling down, one of them made a spring and tumbled on board.

"Why, Tim Connor, where did you come from?" asked one of our men. At that moment the other man, instead of trying to save himself, plunged into the water, and began swimming towards the southern sh.o.r.e. Perhaps he thought that he might escape in the confusion unperceived, but our lieutenant caught sight of him.

"Never mind the boat," he exclaimed. "Out oars. We must get hold of that fellow, whoever he is."

We were not long in coming up with the bold swimmer, who, speedily caught by the hair of his head, was hauled on board, in spite of his struggles to get free. As he was hauled aft by the orders of the lieutenant, I recognised Dan Hoolan.