The Three Commanders Part 25

"'There's luck in odd numbers, cried Rory O'More,'" answered Desmond; "to my fancy, the girl I last danced with is handsomer than any of them.

She was asking me all sorts of questions about our ship and the commander and my uncle, and seemed very sorry about the loss of the brig, of which she had evidently heard. I'll introduce you, Tom,--she was engaged for the next dance, but said that she should be happy if I would bring you up for the following one,--so come along. She's only been here for a short time on her way home from India, so I gathered from what she said; but I daresay she'll tell you if you ask her, for there's evidently no nonsense about her."

"That's just the sort of girl I like," said Tom, as Desmond led him across the room to a young lady who was seated far back in an alcove, from whence she could watch the crowd without being observed. Tom, as he made his bow, and was received with a sweet smile, thought that she fully came up to Desmond's description, though she was certainly older than most of his previous partners. He willingly, in answer to her inquiries, told her all about the ship, his brother Jack, and Adair.

She then got him to talk about Halliburton, and he was surprised to find that she was well acquainted with the country. At last she said, "I wonder you do not remember me, Tom;" on which, looking into her face, he exclaimed, "Why, you are Julia Giffard!"

She acknowledged that such was the case, and that she had gone out to India with her father, Colonel Giffard, who had been compelled, on account of ill-health, to visit the Cape, and had been advised to return home without going back.

"Jack will be delighted to see you," said Tom; "I'll go and find him and bring him to you, if you will allow me."

Julia replied that she should be very happy to talk about old times with Captain Rogers, and Tom, after the dance was over, leaving her in her former seat, hurried off to find his brother.

"I thought it must be her," said Jack; "but yet, as I fancied she was at home, I concluded that she was only remarkably like herself. She doesn't look a day older than when I last saw her."

Miss Giffard held out her hand as Jack approached, and they were soon engaged in an interesting conversation. Jack did not dance with anyone else during the evening. He promised to call the next morning on Colonel Giffard, who had not been well enough to come to the ball. The result of the visit was that Jack offered to convey him and his daughter to England. As the _Gauntlet_ was to sail immediately, and might hope to make a quick pa.s.sage, and the colonel being anxious to arrive at home as soon as possible, he gladly availed himself of Jack's offer. Julia seemed very well pleased at the arrangement, and the midshipmen were delighted when they heard that they were to have a lady on board.

The _Gauntlet_ and _Opal_ sailed the same day. It was to be a race between steam and wind; at first the trim corvette, with a fair breeze, distanced her consort, and Archie, who, though still on board the steamer, retained a natural feeling of pride in his own ship, declared that she would win.

"Stay a bit, till the wind falls, and we get our fires alight," answered Tom; "the old kettle will then show how she can go along."

Miss Giffard had not been on board long before the commander's attentions to her were remarked, and in the midshipmen's berth it was decided that it was a gone case. Miss Giffard had heard of Jack's engagement to the beautiful Irish girl, and of his bereavement; and the sympathy she exhibited quickly melted any ice which might have existed round his heart. His sisters would have been highly pleased could they have known the turn affairs were taking. Long before the ship reached Spithead, Jack was engaged to Julia Giffard, with the colonel's full consent.

The _Gauntlet_ received orders immediately to go into harbour, and scarcely had she picked up her moorings, than a note from Admiral Triton came on board, begging Jack to come to Southsea as soon as possible, as his sister and Mrs Murray were anxious to see him. Jack and Adair escorted Colonel Giffard and his daughter to The George, where leaving them, they hurried on to the admiral's house. Stella was anxious to receive news of her husband, while Lucy's happiness at seeing Jack and Adair was somewhat marred at being told of the loss of the brig. When, however, the admiral heard all the particulars, he a.s.sured Adair that he would be honourably acquitted, and that it would not stand in the way of his getting another ship.

"I've good news for you, whatever others may think of it," he added; "the Russians have already invaded the Princ.i.p.alities, and, at the Sultan's request, the British and French fleets have pa.s.sed through the Dardanelles, and taken up an anchorage before Constantinople. They were there when news arrived--which reached me only this morning--that the Turks had a squadron of eight frigates and a few smaller vessels lying at anchor in the harbour of Sinope, according to Turkish custom, totally unprepared for battle. Instead of remaining where they were, they would have acted more wisely had they got out of the Black Sea and run for safety to the British fleet. As it was, there they lay, not dreaming of danger, when, during a thick log, the Russian admiral, Natchimoff, sailed out of Sevastopol with six line-of-battle ships, two frigates, and several small vessels, and suddenly appeared off the port, when the Turks, not liking his appearance, fired a few shots at him.

Unfortunately for themselves, he immediately, without giving them the chance of striking their flags, opened upon them a tremendous fire from the broadsides of his line-of-battle ships. Though they could not have had the slightest hope of victory, they fought on with the utmost desperation, either refusing to strike their colours, or, if they were hauled down, the Russian admiral was too blind to see it. With barbarous resolution, he continued blazing away, till frigate after frigate sunk or was blown up; and four thousand of the brave fellows who had manned them were killed. One steamer only managed to get away and carry the news to Constantinople. Scarcely four hundred Turks, all of those more or less wounded, escaped on sh.o.r.e. The town was also dreadfully knocked about, and many people were killed. Natchimoff, having waited till the next day, returned to the harbour of Sebastopol.

I only hope the next time he sails out of it, whether or not he has the whole of the Russian fleet to back him, that he will fall in with a British squadron. Depend upon it, England will not allow this outrage to go unavenged. The allied fleets are by this time in the Black Sea, looking out for the enemy. I wish you were there, but we shall be reinforcing the fleet in the Black Sea, as well as sending another up the Baltic to attack the Russians on their northern sh.o.r.es."

This was not a time that Adair could press his suit with Sir John, though Colonel Giffard promised to use his influence as soon as he returned home. Meantime the colonel and Julia accepted the admiral's and Mrs Deborah's invitation to remain at Southsea till Jack had paid off the _Gauntlet_. She was to be immediately recommissioned as soon as she had undergone the necessary repairs.

The court-martial to try Adair for the loss of the _Romp_ immediately took place; when not only was he honourably acquitted, but next day he was appointed to the command of the _Gauntlet_, ordered to proceed with the squadron under Sir Charles Napier to the Baltic. Jack, taking it into his head that he was to be placed on the shelf, proposed to marry at once; but the very next day he was appointed to a new steamer ordered to be brought forward with all despatch for the Mediterranean squadron.

He had time, therefore, only to run home for a few days, and to return immediately to Portsmouth.

The _Opal_ meantime had arrived, and, being paid off, her crew were turned over to Jack's new ship, the _Tornado_. Murray, once more with his dear Stella, very naturally had no wish to leave her, and they were on the point of setting off for Scotland, when he received a flattering note from Captain Hemming, which completely altered his plans. "I have been appointed to the _Briton_, seventy-four, and, having to select my commander, I beg that you will allow me to name you, as I am very sure that you will get her well manned and quickly fit for sea, and that you will ably second me in any work we have to perform. I consider you, my dear Murray, as efficient an officer as any with whom I am acquainted.

I do not know yet whether we are to be sent to the Baltic or the Mediterranean, but we are certain to go to one or the other."

Alick placed the matter before Stella, who looked very pale, but answered heroically, "You must do what you conceive to be your duty. I have before advised you not to give up the service, and I must therefore say, accept Captain Hemming's flattering offer."

"I knew that you would decide rightly," answered Murray.

"I heartily congratulate you!" exclaimed the admiral. "Deb and I will take good care of your wife while you're away; it won't be for a long period, I hope; and it won't be Hemming's fault if you have not some opportunity of distinguishing yourself and gaining your post-rank. I should like to see you all three captains before I slip my cable, which I must expect to do before many years are over; and it will give me more pleasure than I can well express to see you all whom I knew as youngsters gain your well-earned promotion. You've always done your duty, and will, I am sure, prove ornaments to our profession as long as you remain afloat."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

REVIEW AT SPITHEAD--ADMIRAL TRITON'S OPINION OF STEAM-VESSELS--THE ALLIED FLEETS IN CAVARNA BAY--JACK VISITS MURRAY ON BOARD THE BRITON-- BOMBARDMENT OF ODESSA--LOSS OF THE TIGER--JACK IN COMMAND OF THE TORNADO RUNS INTO THE HARBOUR OF SEBASTOPOL--A VISIT TO THE GUARDS' CAMP.

"A magnificent sight! What would Nelson have done with such a fleet?"

exclaimed the admiral, as, with his eye at a telescope turned towards Spithead, at an early hour on the morning of the 11th of March 1854, he gazed at the fleet collected there under Sir Charles Napier. "We must have a nearer look at them, ladies; the _Gauntlet_ goes out of harbour, and Adair has sent his c.o.xswain to say that his gig is waiting at the pier. Come, Deborah; come, Mrs Murray; get on your wraps. Lucy, my dear, you mustn't mind appearances; though the sun is bright, the wind is still keen, and you will find it cold enough coming on sh.o.r.e again."

The ladies, who had already finished breakfast, were soon equipped; and the admiral, helped by Miss Rogers and his sister, had got into his pea-jacket, and, Lucy having tucked the ends of the comforter which surrounded his throat well into it, he was ready, stick in hand, to tramp across the common. Lucy's well-fitting yachting-dress, with an overcoat calculated to withstand all weathers, became her well. The gig was soon alongside the _Gauntlet_, at whose gangway Adair stood ready to receive his guests. It was the first time Lucy had come on board, and with no little pride and happiness he helped her up the accommodation ladder.

The next instant, casting off from her moorings, the _Gauntlet_ steamed out of the harbour towards Spithead. "Well, after all, there is something to be said in favour of steam," observed the admiral; "and though I did once think it would never come to much, I must confess I was wrong; though, had it never been invented, we should not have felt the want of it."

"At all events, admiral, it enables us to get out to Spithead, which we otherwise should have found it a difficult job to do," answered Adair, laughing. "Look at the magnificent _Duke of Wellington_, with her 131 guns; see the _Royal George_, and _Saint Jean d'Acre_, with what ease they can now manoeuvre, by the aid of their screws. I suspect Nelson would have been willing to exchange the whole of his fleet for three such ships at Trafalgar, and not only would have gained the victory, but would not have allowed one of the enemy to escape."

"It might have been so," said the admiral; "but I suspect, had the chance been given him, he would have preferred having his tough little _Victory_ and the other stout ships of his fleet, to all the new-fangled contrivances." The admiral, it was evident, had still a hankering for the good old days when he first went to sea.

The _Gauntlet_ was able to steam through a considerable portion of the fleet before she took up her destined station; thus pa.s.sing in succession the _Duke of Wellington_, Sir Charles Napier's flagship, the _Neptune, Saint George_, and _Royal George_, 120-gun ships, the _Saint Jean d'Acre_, 101 guns; fourteen other ships carrying from 60 to 91 guns, most of them fitted with screws; five frigates, each able to compete with an old line-of-battle ship; and eighteen paddle-wheel and screw-steamers, anyone of which would speedily have sunk the largest ship of ancient days.

In a short time the Queen appeared in the _Fairy_ yacht, pa.s.sing through this superb fleet, when, the yards being manned, the crews greeted her with hearty cheers, and such a salute broke forth from their guns as had never before been heard.

"Well, admiral, I hope when we come back we shall be able to give a good account of our proceedings, if the Czar ventures to go to war," observed Adair; "we may at least expect to take Sweaborg, Helsingfors, and Cronstadt, and perhaps lay Saint Petersburg itself under contribution."

"If Sir Charles is at all like what he was a few years ago, I hope you may," answered the admiral; "but though Charley is some years my junior, I should have declined ten years ago accepting such a command. He may be tough enough, but the sort of work he has to do wants nerve, and that, as a man advances in life, is apt to slacken."

Still, notwithstanding Admiral Triton, the prognostications of Adair were shared in by all in the fleet, as well as by the nation at large, and grand results were expected. The admiral had engaged one of the steamers plying between Ryde and Portsmouth to come alongside and take his party on sh.o.r.e. Poor Lucy, it was very trying to her, though Mrs Murray from experience could give her heartfelt sympathy. Alick had already sailed for the Black Sea, and Jack some weeks previously had proceeded in the same direction.

We will make our way on board the _Tornado_. She had a quick pa.s.sage under sail and steam to Malta, where she lay taking in a fresh supply of coals, and thence proceeded on through the Aegean Sea up the Bosphorus.

Jack recognised with no small amount of pleasure many of the islands he had visited as a youngster; he had then thought them very beautiful, and he acknowledged that they were so still, though the proportions of the scenery appeared lessened in his eyes after the grander features of the West Indies and South America.

Tom and Desmond were inclined to turn up their noses at them, not having any great respect for the surrounding cla.s.sical a.s.sociations. "Very pretty hills to adorn the surface of a moderate-sized lake," observed Tom, "but Trinidad and Jamaica completely take the shine out of them."

Higson, whom Jack had obtained as his first lieutenant, was much of the same opinion. Mildmay, who had been appointed by the Admiralty, not having seen the West Indies, was in raptures, and, with notebook in hand, stood dotting down the lines inspired by his muse. Jos Green, the master, suggested that he would be better employed in making outlines of the headlands and other prominent features of the land.

"Very well for you, master, who have to navigate the ship, but we are above such grovelling notions," answered Mildmay; "you have nothing Byronic in your composition."

"Just take care when it's your watch that you don't run the ship ash.o.r.e in a fit of poetical abstraction," said Green, laughing; "your Byronic enthusiasm would not be received as a valid excuse at a court-martial."

Besides the officers named, Jack had several of his own and Murray's old shipmates--d.i.c.k Needham as gunner, Ben s.n.a.t.c.hblock as boatswain, with the two midshipmen, d.i.c.ky Duff and Billy Blueblazes; Jerry Bird; the Irishman, Tim Nolan; and several others, all good men and true.

With patriotic pride Jack saw the magnificent fleet under Admiral Dundas lying at anchor in Cavarna Bay as the _Tornado_ steamed into that roadstead. It lies on the western side of the Black Sea, a little to the north of Varna. There lay the _Britannia_ and _Trafalgar_, of 120 guns, the admiral's flag flying at the masthead of the first; the _Queen_, of 116 guns; the _Agamemnon_, a name renowned in naval story, of 101 guns, carrying the flag of Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons; the _Albion_, of 91 guns; the _Rodney_ and _London_, of 90; the _Vengeance, Bellerophon_, and _Sanspareil_, of 84, 80, and 70 guns respectively; the _Arethusa_, of 50 guns, twice the size of her predecessor, known in song as the "gallant _Arethusa_;" and numerous other frigates and steamers, the smallest equal in power to any frigate of the olden times. There too lay the French fleet, fifty sail of the line and twenty-one frigates and smaller vessels, with the flag of Admiral Hamelin flying on board the _Ville-de-Paris_, of 120 guns, and that of the second in command, Admiral Bruat, on board the _Montebello_, of the same force. What might not these fleets accomplish if only the Russians would dare to sail out from amid their stone walls and fight? There was the rub.

Jack, having paid his respects to the admiral, made his way on board the _Briton_, accompanied by Archie, whom he knew Murray would be glad to see. Jack, of course, brought despatches from Stella. "Now, Alick," he said, after the first greetings were over, "you read those quietly, while Gordon and I look up some of our old shipmates whom you have on board."

Jack was not disappointed, for though he could not boast of having as many friends as Jos Green, he seldom went anywhere without finding some former shipmates. All were in high spirits at the thoughts of active service, though as yet nothing of importance had been done. A very gallant act, however, had been performed, of which Jack now heard. It was very important to gain exact information as to the present state of the harbour of Sebastopol and the forts protecting it, for there was every reason to believe considerable alterations had of late been made.

As soon as the news of the ma.s.sacre of Sinope had reached England, the Government sent out orders to the admirals to enter the Black Sea, to stop every Russian ship they met, and to prevent by force, if necessary, any fresh aggression on the Turkish flag, that no repet.i.tion of such atrocity might occur. As war had not yet been formally declared, it was necessary to inform the Cabinet of Saint Petersburg and the Governor of Sebastopol of this resolution. Captain Drummond, commanding the _Retribution_, a steamer of twenty-eight guns, was accordingly ordered to proceed to Sebastopol, and to deliver the despatches to the governor.

In order to make the necessary survey, he was to remain there as long as he possibly could without allowing his design to be suspected by the Russians. It was the middle of winter; the weather, as is generally the case at that time of the year, was very thick. This was favourable to the design. As he had a good chart of the coast, he stood boldly on, keeping the lead going, till he made his way between the two outermost forts into the mouth of the harbour, when he came to an anchor before he was discovered by the Russians. Great must have been their astonishment at seeing an English frigate thus boldly bearding them.

The fires were kept banked up, so that she might, if necessary, make her way out again, should the Russians venture to fire at her, of which there was a very great probability; indeed, it was said that the guns in the forts were actually loaded, ready at a moment to sink the audacious intruder. The instant the anchor was dropped, the boats were sent out to take the necessary soundings, while an accurate survey was commenced of both sh.o.r.es of the harbour and the forts, with the number of their guns which guarded the entrance. The fortifications were indeed of a most formidable character. On two sides of the harbour eleven forts and batteries were counted; one, which appeared to be the key to the entire works of the place, had its guns concealed from view, but in the other ten no fewer than 722 guns, mostly thirty-two pounders, were counted, half of which pointed seaward, and commanded the approach to the harbour; and the other half commanded the harbour, in which lay the Russian fleet itself. In every direction men could be seen strengthening the works and erecting new ones. The town was surrounded by a wall fifteen feet in height, and loopholed for musketry, with a ditch in front. So narrow was the entrance that two line-of-battle ships could barely sail in abreast.

Having delayed as long as he could, Captain Drummond sent a boat with an officer to convey the despatches to the governor, who at first expressed himself very much astonished at the appearance of an English ship at such a juncture. Being a.s.sured, however, that the frigate had come to perform an act of courtesy, he was satisfied, and, salutes having been exchanged, the _Retribution_ lifted her anchor and steamed again out of the harbour, with the important knowledge which had been obtained, and which was quickly conveyed to Admiral Dundas. Captain Drummond was of opinion that the place was entirely una.s.sailable by ships alone, but that it might easily be blockaded and hara.s.sed by sh.e.l.ls thrown into it at night, though he was convinced that should a ship enter the harbour in order to destroy the Russian fleet lying there, it must be annihilated before it could get out again. He advised, therefore, that Sebastopol should be attacked by a combined naval and military force; and, as far as could be learned, the authorities had determined on this mode of proceeding.

Jack, having left Murray time to read his despatches, rejoined him, and heard more of what had taken place. "The army have suffered dreadfully," said Murray, as Jack was seated in his cabin; "not from the enemy, but from cholera and fever. It has also appeared on board the fleet, and nearly every ship has lost a good many men. Upwards of fifty have died on board the flagship, and we have had thirty or forty on the sick list at a time, many of whom have succ.u.mbed to the disease. The steamers have, I hope, a better chance of escaping, but it has not left them entirely alone."

"Well, I trust we shall keep free," said Jack. "The best thing we can hope for is that the commander-in-chief will give us something to do before long."

After describing the halt of the British forces at Scutari, and various incidents which had occurred, Murray went on with an account of what had since taken place: "After remaining for some time at Scutari, the greater part of the English force was moved on to the neighbourhood of Varna, where they have been distributed on the heights south of Varna Bay, and at various other points," he continued. "The first division, consisting of the Guards and Highlanders, with two field-batteries, are encamped at Gevreckler, a dreary common covered with a short, wiry gra.s.s, one of the most desolate-looking plains I ever visited."