Percival Keene Part 41

I ought to have observed, that when my mother was so indulgent as to commit suicide for my sake, she had taken every precaution, and the letter of my grandmother informed Captain Delmar that my mother had bequeathed me 12,000 pounds in the three per cents, which she had laid by from her business, and that therefore there was no longer any occasion that I should be an expense to Captain Delmar. It must not, however, be supposed, from my grandmother stating this, that Captain Delmar was at all mercenary or stingy; on the contrary, considering that, as the second son of a n.o.bleman, he had only 1,000 pounds per annum besides his pay, he was exceedingly liberal (although not extravagant) in all money matters.

At last I was well enough to return to my duty; and glad I was to be once more walking the quarter-deck, not as before, on the lee, but on the weather side, with an epaulet on my shoulder. Strange to say, there was not a midshipman in the ship (although there were so many) who had served so long as I had, and in consequence there was not any heart-burning or jealousy at my promotion, and I continued on the best terms with my old mess-mates, although gradually lessening the intimacy which existed between us. But that was not intentional on my part; it was the effect of my promotion, and removal from the berth of a set of lads to the company of the senior and older officers. I was now a man, and had the feelings and thoughts of a man. My frolics and tricks were discarded with the midshipman's coat; and in respecting my new rank I respected myself.

Now that I walked on the same side of the deck, Captain Delmar very often entered into conversation with me; and although at first it was with caution on his part, yet, when he found that I never presumed, and was, invariably, most respectful, he became on much more intimate terms with me.

During three months we continued cruising about without falling in with or having received any intelligence of the French frigate which we were sent in quest of; at last Captain Delmar resolved to change the cruising ground, and we ran up to ten degrees of lat.i.tude further north.

As we were running up, we fell in with an American brig, and brought her to; a boat was sent for the captain, who, when he came on board, was interrogated by Captain Delmar, as to his having seen or heard of any French vessel on that coast. As the conversation took place on the quarter-deck, and I was officer of the watch, I can repeat it.

"Well," replied the American through his nose, "I reckon there is a Frenchman in these parts?"

"Have you fallen in with her?" inquired Captain Delmar.

"Well, I may say I have; for I lay alongside of her in Cartagena when I was taking in my cargo of hides. You haven't such a thing as a spar as will make me a pole top-gallant mast, captain, have you?"

"Is she large or small?"

"Well, captain, I don't care whether the spar be large or small; I've two carpenters on board, and I'll soon dub it down into shape."

"I inquired about the vessel--I did not refer to the spar," replied Captain Delmar, haughtily.

"And I referred to the spar, which is my business, and not to the vessel, which is no consarn of mine," replied the American captain.

"You see, master, we have both our wants; you want information, I want a spar: I have no objection to a fair swop."

"Well," replied Captain Delmar, rather amused, "give me the information and you shall have the spar."

"That's agreed."

"Send for the carpenter, and desire him to get out a small spar, Mr ---," said Captain Delmar to the first lieutenant.

"Well, captain, that looks like business, and so now I'll go on. The Frenchman is as large as you; may be," said he, looking round the deck, "he may be a bit larger, but you won't mind that, I suppose."

"Did you leave her in port when you sailed?"

"I reckon she was off two days before me."

"And how many days is it since you sailed?"

"Just four days, I calculate."

"And did you hear where she was going to?"

"Yes, I did, and I've a notion I could put my finger upon her now, if I choosed. Captain, you haven't got a coil of two-inch which you could lend me--I ain't got a topsail brace to reeve and mine are very queer just now. I reckon they've been turned end for end so often, that there's an end of them."

"You say that you know where the vessel is--where is she?"

"Captain, that's telling--can't I have the two inch?"

"We have not a whole coil of two-inch left, sir," said the master, touching his hat. "We might spare him enough for a pair of new braces."

"Well, well, I'm reasonable altogether, and if so be you haven't got it, I don't expect it. It's very odd now, but I can't just now remember the place that the French vessel was going to; it's slipped clean out of my memory."

"Perhaps the two-inch might help your memory," replied the captain.

"Mr Smith, let the rope be got up and put into the boat."

"Well," said the American captain, "as you say, mister, it may help my memory. It's not the first time that I've freshened a man's memory with a bit of two-inch myself," continued he, grinning at his own joke; "but I don't see it coming."

"I have ordered it to be put in the boat," replied Captain Delmar, haughtily: "my orders are not disobeyed, nor is my word doubted."

"Not by them as knows you, I dare say, captain, but you're a stranger to me; I don't think I ask much, after all--a bit of spar and a bit of rope--just to tell you where you may go and take a fine vessel, and pocket a nation lot of dollars as prize-money. Well, there's the rope, and now I'll tell you. She was going off Berbice or Surinam, to look after the West Indiamen, who were on the coast, or expected on it, I don't know which. There you'll find her, as sure as I stand here; but I think that she is a bit bigger than this vessel--you don't mind that, I dare say."

"You may go on board now, sir," said Captain Delmar.

"Well, thank ye, captain, and good luck to you."

The American captain went down the side; and as soon as our boat returned, and was hoisted up, we made all sail for the coast of Demerara.

"She must be a fine vessel," said Captain Delmar to me, as he was walking the deck,--"a very fine vessel, if she is bigger than we are."

"You will excuse me, Captain Delmar, if I venture to observe that there was an expression in the eye of the American, when he said a bit bigger, which made me take it into my head, that in saying so, he was only deceiving us. The Americans are not very partial to us, and would be glad of any revenge."

"That may be, Mr Keene; but I do not see that he can be deceiving us, by making her out to be larger, as it is putting us on our guard. Had he said that she was smaller, it would then have been deceiving us."

"I did not take it in that sense, sir," replied I. "He said a bit bigger; now, I can't help thinking that a bit bigger was meant to deceive us, and that it will prove that the Frenchman is a line-of-battle ship, and not a frigate: he wished to leave us under the impression that it was a larger frigate than our own and no more."

"It may be so," replied Captain Delmar, thoughtfully; "at all events, Mr Keene, I am obliged to you for the suggestion."

The captain took two or three more turns fore and aft in silence and then quitted the deck.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

In three days we had gained the lat.i.tude of Berbice, and on the fourth morning the men at the mast-head were keeping a sharp look-out for any strange sail. Our head was then towards the land, which, being very low, could not be seen; the breeze was light, the royals had been set, and the men piped down to breakfast, when the mast-head-man reported three sail right ahead. We soon made them out to be merchant vessels, and as they separated, and made all sail from us, we made sure that they had been captured; and so it proved when we took possession of them, which we did not do of the third before night-fall.

Upon interrogating the prisoners and the few English who had been left on board the prizes, we found out that I had been right in my conjecture; they had been captured by a French line-of-battle ship, which they had left in sh.o.r.e the evening before. The English reported her a very fast sailer, and believed her to be an eighty gun ship-- indeed the French prisoners acknowledged that such was the case.

This was very important intelligence, and Captain Delmar walked up and down deck in deep thought: the fact was, he was puzzled how to act. To attempt to cope with such a force, unless under peculiarly favourable circ.u.mstances, would be madness: to leave the coast and our mercantile navy exposed to her depredations, was at the same time very repulsive to his feelings and sense of duty. The prizes had been manned, the prisoners were on board, the boats hoisted up, and the Manilla still remained hove to. The fact was, the captain did not know which way to put the ship's head; and he walked up and down in deep thought.

"Mr Keene, is it your watch?"

"No, sir."

"Oblige me by telling the master to work up the reckoning; I wish to know exactly where we are."

"It is done already, sir," replied I, "and p.r.i.c.ked off on the chart--I have just left the gun-room."

"Then, Mr Keene, bring the chart into my cabin." I followed into the cabin with the chart, which I laid down on the table, and pointed out the position of the ship.