Under the Meteor Flag Part 21

Then came the sickening task of collecting the dead and wounded, arranging the former for burial, and attending to the wants of the latter and making them as comfortable as possible under the circ.u.mstances. But I will not go into the details of this accompaniment to the "pomp and circ.u.mstance of war," lest I should unnecessarily harrow the feelings of my readers; suffice it to say that our task was not accomplished until long after sun-rise; while that of the naval and military surgeons of course lasted for weeks.

The fall of the Convention Redoubt left the town of San Fiorenzo at our mercy, and accordingly, when next day our troops marched into the town, it was found that the French had evacuated it, and had retired to Bastia.

This, the most important town in the island, and, at the period of my story, also the most strongly fortified--whatever it may be at the present day--is about six miles from San Fiorenzo; and is situated on the eastern or opposite side of the long narrow peninsula which forms the northern extremity of Corsica. It was against it that, in Lord Hood's opinion, our next operations ought to be directed.

His views, however, and those of Major-General Dundas were widely divergent as to the practicability of the proposed scheme; the latter being of opinion that we had neither strength nor means sufficient to effect the reduction of so strongly fortified a place as Bastia; while Lord Hood, on the other hand, was sanguine of success. This difference of opinion between the heads of the forces led to a protracted and vexatious delay, during which we of the fleet busied ourselves successfully in raising the French thirty-eight-gun frigate, "Minerve,"

which her crew had sunk in San Fiorenzo harbour. This ship was afterwards added to our navy under the name of the "San Fiorenzo."

I must not omit to mention that, a few days after the taking of the Convention Redoubt, Captain Hood publicly thanked me, on the "Juno's"

quarter-deck, for the a.s.sistance I had rendered him on that memorable night; and the story also reaching the admiral's ears, I had the gratification of being warmly commended by that great chief, as well as of finding that my name had been prominently mentioned in his despatches home. Several other officers also thanked me for supporting the reputation of the navy, Captain Nelson being especially eulogistic--for him--on the subject. So that, altogether, I received a far greater share of credit than it seemed to me so simple a matter merited.

At length, meeting after meeting having taken place between Lord Hood and Major-General Dundas, without those officers being able to agree upon the question of investing Bastia, something very like a rupture took place; the admiral declaring that so confident was he of success, that, since General Dundas would not co-operate with him, he would undertake alone the task of reducing the place with the seamen and marines belonging to the fleet.

This resolution once arrived at, Lord Hood forthwith set about the work of carrying it out with his accustomed energy. An old twenty-eight-gun frigate, called the "Proselyte," was specially fitted up as a floating battery, and, with the rest of the fleet, taken round to Bastia roads.

The marines were then landed, and, aided by a strong contingent of bluejackets, who were placed under the command of Captain Horatio Nelson, at once set to work to throw up a chain of sod batteries, completely investing the town on the land side.

So much precious time had been wasted in discussing the _pros and cons_ of this matter, that, notwithstanding our utmost exertions, it was not until the second week of April, 1794, that our batteries were finished, the guns mounted, and everything ready for the projected attack. The evening of the 10th, however, saw our preparations completed; and on the morning of the 11th the "Proselyte" was moved insh.o.r.e and moored in a convenient position for battering the seaward defences of the town.

The attack immediately afterwards commenced; the "Proselyte" and the sh.o.r.e batteries opening fire simultaneously. The French replied with the utmost spirit, their guns being admirably served, especially those which played upon the "Proselyte;" and it soon became evident that that unfortunate craft was getting decidedly the worst of it. She was the only ship engaged, the admiral having early come to the conclusion that it would be madness to expose his fleet, unprotected, to the fire of the heavy metal mounted in the French defences; we therefore--the few of us, that is, who were not detailed for duty on sh.o.r.e--had nothing to do for the time being but watch the fun.

The action had been in progress but a short time, when we observed that the "Proselyte" was swinging round; and on looking at her more attentively, with the aid of our telescopes, we discovered that some of her moorings had been shot away. Her remaining cables soon brought her up again; but not until she had drifted into a frightfully exposed position. The fire of the French batteries was immediately concentrated upon the devoted craft with increased energy; and presently little jets of greyish smoke, issuing here and there from her sides, showed that the enemy was effectively firing red-hot shot.

About ten minutes afterwards a little string of b.a.l.l.s was seen soaring aloft to her mast-head. The b.a.l.l.s burst apart, and four signal flags fluttered in the breeze.

I raised my telescope to my eye and read out the numbers to Mr Annesley, who was busy turning over the leaves of the signal-book.

He ran his finger hastily along the column of figures, and read out to the skipper, who was looking over is shoulder,--

"Ship on fire--send a.s.sistance."

"Now, Mr Chester, keep your eye on the admiral, and see what he says,"

remarked the skipper.

As he spoke I saw a signal going aloft on board the "Victory," and managed to get it into the field of my telescope just as the flags burst abroad at the mast-head.

I read out the numbers again.

"All right; I know what that means, without turning up the numbers,"

said the skipper quickly. "It means, 'Send away boats to ship in distress.' So have the goodness to pipe away the pinnace and first and second cutters, if you please, Mr Annesley."

In another moment the boatswain's shrill pipe was sounding throughout the ship; the boats, which were hanging at the boom, were brought alongside, manned, placed in charge of a midshipman to each boat, and despatched with all speed to the a.s.sistance of the unlucky "Proselyte,"

from which, by this time, dense clouds of dark smoke were issuing.

Meanwhile the boats from the rest of the fleet were also pushing off with the same object as ourselves; and an exciting race ensued. We were among the last to arrive alongside, having had a longer distance to pull than any of the other boats; and when we reached the doomed craft, the flames were bursting out through her ports, roaring fiercely up through her hatchways, and soaring aloft by means of her rigging like fiery serpents. Some of her guns were already nearly red-hot. Part of her main-deck had fallen in; and her main and mizzen-masts were so far burnt through at the foot that they threatened momentarily to fall.

Although the flames were blazing so fiercely, and had obtained such a complete hold upon the ship that the magazine was expected to explode at any moment, and although the enemy, taking full advantage of the disaster, was concentrating a terrific fire upon that part of the ship where her crew were mustered, awaiting their turn to go down over the side into the boats which were waiting to receive them, there was not a trace of hurry or confusion. Commander Serocold, who had been given the command of the unfortunate craft, stood on the rail and personally directed the process of trans-shipping; sending down first the injured, then the younger and rawer portion of the crew, then the veterans--the st.u.r.dy old bronzed and weather-beaten salts, whose nerves were thoroughly proof against the worst terrors of battle, fire, or flood,-- next the officers, and finally, when he was quite satisfied that no living being but himself remained on board, he raised his uniform cap as if in salute, slipped down the side, and gave the order to "give way."

"Stretch out to your work, lads," he exclaimed, as the oars dashed into the water; "throw your whole hearts into it; the fire must be close to the magazine, and--"

A terrific concussion, a dull heavy roar, and the poor old "Proselyte"

was rent to pieces, as a broad sheet of flame flashed up from her hull skyward. A wall of water some five feet high leapt up just under our stern, and immediately afterwards curled over upon us, completely swamping the boat. Fragments of planks and beams, heavy bolts, spars, and other wreckage whizzed through the air all around us; and one of the guns, still mounted on its carriage, and with its shattered tackles streaming in the air, was hurled outwards and fell into the water with a tremendous splash, within six feet of where we were all left struggling in the water. Then a great cloud of black smoke shot up into the air; and the blackened remains of the hull, collapsing amidships, sank out of sight, creating a great seething whirl, which dragged us all helplessly into its vortex, and sucked us ruthlessly down, down deep into the darkening bosom of the ocean.

Stunned, and almost insensible from the violence of the shock, I still had presence of mind left to close my nostrils with the fingers of one hand, and to hold my breath, as I was helplessly whirled hither and thither; and at last, just as my powers of endurance had reached the point of exhaustion, I rose again to the surface, and beheld once more the welcome sight of the bright sunlight flashing upon the dancing billows.

The water all round me was thickly strewn with wreckage; and a few pieces were still falling here and there, showing the height to which the fragments had been projected. A dozen or so of human heads appeared on the surface of the water at no great distance from me; and others were momentarily popping up above the waves; the owners, one and all, immediately striking out, more or less scientifically, for the nearest floating object.

Looking round me, I soon had the satisfaction of discovering the gallant commander of the ill-fated "Proselyte," clinging to the keel of our boat, which was floating bottom-up at no great distance from me. Seeing that all hands appeared pretty well able to take care of themselves, I at once struck out and joined him.

"Ah! Mr Chester," he exclaimed, as I ranged alongside, "glad to see that you have weathered it so well. It was a very narrow squeak; and we have come out of it a good deal better than I dared expect. I have been trying to count heads, and I make out thirty-eight, all told; how many men had you with you?"

"Twelve," I answered.

"Twelve?" he repeated, "then that brings us out all right, for I counted twenty-four of my people as they pa.s.sed down into the boat, and I make twenty-five, which, with you and your dozen, brings up the complement.

Here come the boats to pick us up. I have no doubt the explosion has frightened all the sharks within a dozen miles of us, and started them off to seaward under a heavy press of sail; otherwise I should not feel quite so easy in my mind about those poor fellows. Some of them are clinging to very small pieces of wreckage, and would have no chance if attacked."

I remarked that I thought there was not very much danger; an opinion which soon received singular confirmation; for while we were still speaking, immense numbers of fish of all sizes and descriptions, some killed, and others merely stunned by the violence of the explosion, floated up to the surface; and shortly afterwards, when the boats had picked us all up, and we were pulling out toward the fleet, we fell in with an enormous shark, floating helplessly on his back, in an apparently paralysed condition. A running bowline was promptly slipped over his tail and drawn taut; and he was triumphantly and unresistingly towed alongside the "Victory," and hoisted inboard.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

A FOOLHARDY ADVENTURE.

Short time after this, a melancholy event occurred, which cast a gloom over the entire fleet.

The siege was not progressing to the admiral's satisfaction; the garrison showed no sign of yielding; and our chief became anxious to learn something with regard to the condition of things within the walls of Bastia.

The moment that this desire became known, a host of volunteers stepped forward, with offers to do their best to make their way inside and gain the required information. Admiral Hood, however, felt very reluctant to allow any of these volunteers to expose themselves to so great a risk; particularly as it turned out, when questioned, that not one of them had been able to devise a really practicable and promising scheme.

The least unpromising idea of them all, was that suggested by Lieutenant Carre Tupper, of the flag-ship; which was, that he should endeavour to _effect_ a landing inside the chain of defences, and, penetrating into the town, gain all the information he could; and trust to his good fortune for the means of getting off to the ship again. This plan seemed all the more feasible, from the fact that he spoke the French language with the ease and fluency of a Parisian.

After much consideration, therefore, the admiral accepted this gallant young officer's offer, and gave his consent to the experiment.

A disguise was accordingly prepared under Lieutenant Tupper's own supervision; and on the first favourable night the experiment was tried.

It was perfectly calm, with an overcast sky and no moon, when he stood, dressed in his disguise, in the gangway of the "Victory," receiving from the admiral his last instructions; and many a hearty hand-shake, and many a fervent "Success attend you, my dear fellow," did he receive before pa.s.sing down the lofty side of the 100-gun ship, into the pinnace which, with m.u.f.fled oars and a crew armed to the teeth, awaited him at the foot of the side-ladder.

At last the final parting was spoken, the final shake of the hand given, and with a gay laugh, in response to the half-serious, half-jocose warnings to take care of himself which followed him, he sprang lightly down the side, took his seat in the stern-sheets, and gave the order to shove off.

He had most carefully reconnoitred the place beforehand, both from the topgallant-yard of the "Victory," and from the deck of the little "Mouette;" so that he knew exactly for what point to steer; and there was no hesitation whatever upon that score.

All went well with the little expedition until the boat arrived within half a mile of Bastia, when a little breeze sprang up; the canopy of cloud which had overspread the heavens cleared away as if by magic, and the stars shone out brilliantly, flooding earth and sea with a light which, though subdued, was sufficient to reveal to the sharp-eyed French sentinels the small dark object which was silently stealing toward the sh.o.r.e.

The alarm was immediately given; but instead of opening upon the boat with their heavy guns, at the risk of missing their object, and driving off their prey, the French allowed the boat still to approach, and, marking carefully the spot for which she was making, silently placed a strong body of sharpshooters in ambush to await her coming.

Had the Frenchmen in ambush but observed the most ordinary caution, there is no doubt they would easily have captured the boat and the whole of her crew, but instead of this they gave way to the excitement which is one of their failings, and indulged in such loud and continuous chatter that the c.o.xswain of the pinnace heard them when within about twenty yards of the landing-place, and the boat was at once pulled round with her head off sh.o.r.e, and the crew ordered to "give way with a will,"

in order to escape the very obvious danger.

But it was too late. The moment that it was observed that their destined prey had taken the alarm, a terrific volley of musketry was poured into the boat, and the gallant young officer who had undertaken the chief risk of the expedition fell forward into the bottom of the boat, dead and riddled with bullets. The c.o.xswain also and two of the crew were more or less severely wounded. The boat was as speedily as possible taken out of range, and though, when it was found that there was a prospect of her escaping, some of the batteries opened upon her, and two or three boats started from the sh.o.r.e in chase, she reached the "Victory" without further mishap, about an hour and a half from the time when she started upon the disastrous expedition.