Under the Meteor Flag Part 5

The fight had been raging thus furiously for some three or four minutes without our gaining any perceptible advantage; our men were falling fast; and it became evident that unless something decisive were speedily done, we should be overpowered by sheer force of numbers. The French were congregated in a compact group amidships, our party being divided into two, one of which had been led on board aft by the skipper, while the other had followed Mr Sennitt forward; the French were consequently between us and the lieutenant's party. It occurred to me that if Mr Clewline could pour a charge or two of grape into the crowd of Frenchmen, it might have the effect of freshening their way; and I was pushing towards the bulwarks intending to slip down on board the "Scourge" and see what could be done, when I observed for the first time that she was no longer alongside; and on looking farther I caught a glimpse of her through one of the open ports, lying about a couple of cables' lengths distant.

I called Markham's attention to this; at the same time mentioning what I had thought about the grape.

"A capital notion, young-un!" he replied. "Your infantile intellect is really developing with marvellous rapidity. Clewline can't be communicated with, however, where he is; so we must just do the best we can for ourselves. And look here! here is a six-pounder cast loose and all ready to our hands; watch the roll of the ship, and we can run it right inboard--here you, Peters,"--to one of the seamen, "lend a hand here to run in this gun and slew it round with its muzzle forward. So!

that's just right; now then for a charge; do you see a--? Oh, here's a cartridge; in with it; ram it well down, Peters; and you, Chester, see if you can find anything to put in on top of the powder;--marline- spikes; tenpenny nails; empty bottles; blue pills and black draughts; the cook's tormentors; or the skipper's best china tea service--_anything_ will do that is obnoxious to the interior of the human system--"

"Will this do?" I inquired, fishing out from the scuppers a heavy object of cylindrical shape, over which I had stumbled two or three times.

"Bless your dear little innocent heart! yes," answered Markham, "it will do berry nicey nicey. Why, it's the very thing, greeny; it's _cannister_; in with it; if this does not wake them up, call me a Dutchman, that's all. Now we're all ready. You let the skipper know what we're going to do, Chester; and I'll stand by to fire directly he gives the word."

It was no very easy matter to secure the skipper's attention and make him understand what we proposed to do; but I managed to accomplish it at last. As soon as he understood me, he hailed in a voice which rose clear and high above the din, "Is Mr Sennitt there?"

"Ay ay, sir," came back in the well-known tones of the "first."

"We are going to try the effect of a charge of cannister," hailed the skipper; "be good enough therefore to send your party into the fore rigging; and you, my lads," to his own division, "stand by to rush aft behind the gun. Now!"

The first lieutenant's division sprang like cats into the fore rigging, and scuttled away for their lives half-way up to the top; while our party at the same instant made a dash aft and formed again in the rear of the gun. The movement was effected with such lightning-like rapidity that the French could do nothing but stare at us open-mouthed.

Captain Brisac paused a single instant, to make sure that all our lads were out of the way of the shot; and then he called upon the Frenchmen to surrender. Two or three flung down their arms; but the rest, recovering from their momentary astonishment, started on a rush aft; seeing which, the skipper sprang on one side and shouted "Fire!"

The charge took effect in the very thickest of the crowd, literally mowing the French down in heaps. At the same instant both parties of the "Scourges" renewed their attack, and this time their rush proved irresistible; there was a momentary attempt at a stand, but our lads were no longer to be denied; and after another very short but very fierce tussle the French threw down their weapons and cried for quarter.

I, however, did not witness the final _denouement_; for, being hurried forward by the rest in the final rush, I found myself in the thick of the _melee_ before I was quite prepared, and received a crushing blow on the head which felled me to the deck.

The prisoners were immediately secured; and the bulk of the "Scourge's"

crew shifted into the prize, a sufficient number only being left on board the brig to work her; the wounded also were retained on board the frigate, where there was of course much better and more roomy accommodation for them; our worthy medico shifting over, bag and baggage, to look after us. The damage to spars and rigging, which turned out to be unimportant in both ships, was soon made good; and about 3 p.m. we made sail in company, shaping a course for Plymouth, where we arrived without mishap, late on the following evening.

We all received very great credit for what the papers were pleased to term our "dashing exploit;" Captain Brisac being rewarded with post rank, while Mr Sennitt was made a commander, and Mr Clewline moved a step up the ratlines. We midshipmen also received our reward in the shape of "honourable mention;" nor were the warrant-officers forgotten; so that, what with promotion and prize-money, the "Scourges" were for a time the envy of the entire navy. The war, however, had only just begun, or rather broken out afresh; and everybody soon consoled themselves with the reflection that our luck might any day become their own. The prize proved to be the frigate "L'Audacieuse," of thirty-two guns and 230 men. She was a bran-new ship, and had come out of Brest on her first cruise only the day before we fell in with her. Her loss in the engagement amounted to forty-six killed and thirty-one wounded; our own casualties amounting to fourteen killed and twenty wounded.

My own wound proved to be of a somewhat serious character, the blow having been inflicted with some heavy blunt instrument, and producing concussion of the brain; I was, however, well looked after, and as soon as it was safe to move me, I was transferred to my own home, where I was nursed, petted, and made much of to my heart's content, until I was in the greatest danger of being spoiled, through the outrageous pampering of my self-love and vanity to which I was subjected.

Luckily, my great-uncle, Sir Peregrine condescended to interest himself in my welfare; the moment, therefore, that I was fairly convalescent he swooped down on the vicarage, like a hawk upon a dove-cot, and carried me off with him to London, where he treated me to a week's cruise among the sights of the place. At the end of that time he drove with me one fine morning to the Admiralty, where I received my appointment to the "Juno" frigate, then fitting-out at Portsmouth for the Mediterranean.

Note. It may be necessary to explain to the uninitiated reader that the terms "he" and "she" are indifferently used at sea, in reference to craft, but when the masculine p.r.o.noun is applied it is understood to refer more especially to the _commanding officer_ of the vessel; while the p.r.o.noun "she" refers to the _vessel herself_.--H.C.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

ON BOARD THE "JUNO."

My short stay with my great-uncle, Sir Peregrine, proved to be a source of very great mutual satisfaction. He was a confirmed old bachelor, with a perfect horror of women and children, and by his persistent avoidance of both had gained for himself a character for moroseness and ill-temper. My mother, however, happened to be somewhat of a favourite with him--if a man possessed of such an unpromising character could be considered capable of so much warmth of feeling as to justify the expression--and having, for her sake, interested himself so far as to launch me in my profession, curiosity prompted him to keep me in view.

He was greatly gratified to see my name appear in connexion with the capture of the "Sans-Culotte;" and when the "Scourge" arrived in Plymouth so speedily with her second prize, and he heard of my being wounded, he posted down from town, determined to see Captain Brisac for himself, and ascertain by actual word of mouth how I had behaved. My kind skipper was so lavish with his praises that Sir Peregrine was in an ecstasy of delight; and from that time he became a different man; in consequence, I presume, of his having stumbled upon an object which excited within him a genuine interest. During the week of my stay with him in town he went everywhere with me, though his normal condition was that of martyrdom to gout; and on my receiving my appointment to the "Juno" he insisted on presenting me with an entire new rig-out from stem to stern; including a very fine and powerful telescope, the best s.e.xtant that could be bought for money, and one or two other matters of use in my profession. It had been intimated to me that, in consideration of my scarcely-healed wound, I need not join my ship until the last moment; but Sir Peregrine insisted on my going down at once, in order that I might not lose the chance which the fitting-out of the ship presented for increasing my knowledge of practical seamanship. "It is not that I am tired of your company, Ralph: do not think that, my dear boy," he earnestly said; "but you have now an opportunity which may perhaps never occur again for acquiring knowledge which is only to be gained in this way; and it is a species of knowledge which may at any moment be of the utmost service to you. You will have to endure a week or two of discomfort, but that is a trifling matter compared with the lasting advantage which you will thereby obtain, and you will live to bless the day when your old uncle hurried you away from the pleasures of town to the discomforts of a ship pa.s.sing through the riggers' hands. One word more, my boy. Your father cannot, I suppose, afford you a very liberal allowance of pocket-money; I shall therefore supplement what he gives you by an allowance of a hundred a year out of my own pocket for the present, that being in my opinion quite as much as a lad of your age ought to spend. At the same time, understand me, if you should by any chance be in difficulties and require a further sum, you may freely draw on me; provided of course that the difficulty is not of your own making, or of a dishonourable nature--but there, I do not think I need fear that of you, Ralph."

This was on the day previous to my starting for Portsmouth. It was arranged that I should go down by the coach; Sir Peregrine at that time strongly disapproving of midshipmen driving down in private carriages, or even posting down to join their ships--"it would be quite time enough for that sort of thing when I had a ship of my own," he considered. We were both accordingly on the move early next morning, the old gentleman insisting on going with me to the coach-office, and seeing me fairly under way. While sitting at breakfast he handed me a letter for Captain Hood, my new skipper, who it appeared was an intimate friend of Sir Peregrine's--with the contents of which, however, I was not made acquainted. He ate very little, devoting the limited time at our disposal to the bestowal upon me of such good advice as his knowledge and experience of the service suggested--advice, the value and benefit of which, I had frequent after occasion to acknowledge. As we rose from the table, he opened a drawer in his secretary, and drew from it a sealed packet which he handed me, saying, "Slip this into your pocket, Ralph, and take care of it; you may open it as soon as you like after you have joined your ship."

We drove to the coach-office in his own carriage, both of us being unusually silent on the way. For my own part, I candidly confess I felt the parting keenly, the dear old boy having completely won my heart by his altogether unexpected kindness; and that organ was too full to permit of my then entering upon a light and trivial conversation; while false shame prevented my giving utterance to those feelings of reverence and regard which were agitating my breast. Just at the last moment Sir Peregrine brightened up again, seeming to have a lot of things to say which he had forgotten until then; his last injunction, however, was, to stick by the ship until she should be "all ataunto;" when I might apply with a clear conscience for leave to run home for a day, just to say good-bye previous to sailing.

Punctual to the second, our coach weighed, and stood out of the inn-yard in tow of four spanking bays, who rattled and jolted us over the stones at the rate of a good honest twelve knots an hour. The morning--early in June--was brilliantly fine; the air delightfully warm and pleasant; and as we left town behind us, mother earth, arrayed in delicate green, was looking her loveliest. The roads were in splendid condition, a smart thunder-shower or two during the previous night having thoroughly laid the dust, from which, therefore, we suffered no annoyance whatever.

The rain had also washed every particle of dust from the hedges and the foliage of the trees, while it had refreshed the flowers in the villa and cottage-gardens which were scattered along the roadside, causing them to diffuse their sweets so bountifully that the atmosphere was heavy with perfume. The sun shone brilliantly; the sky was a dazzling blue, flecked here and there with thin white fleecy clouds, the shadows of which, chasing each other over the landscape, imparted additional variety and charm to the scene. My depression of spirits soon yielded to the exhilarating influence of the day, and enabled me to enjoy thoroughly the drive down, the pleasure of which left upon my mind an agreeable impression, to which I often afterwards reverted with much satisfaction.

We reached Portsmouth about 3 p.m., and the coach stopping at the "George," I decided to stop there also, for that night at least; I accordingly ordered dinner and a room; and then strolled down to the harbour while the former was being got ready. As, however, I had no intention of reporting myself until the following day, I satisfied myself with ascertaining the whereabouts of my new ship, and taking a distant look at her; after which I returned to the hotel, sat down to dinner, strolled as far as Southsea Common afterwards, and got back to the hotel and turned in about ten o'clock, determined to make a good long night of it, as I did not know when I should next have the opportunity of taking a whole night's undisturbed repose.

I was on board the "Juno" by nine o'clock the next morning, and reported myself to Mr Annesley, the first lieutenant, who, early as it was, already appeared to have been hard at work for some time.

"So you are come down to join?" he said, on my presenting myself. "I am very glad to see you, Mr Chester; and I wish one or two more of the young gentlemen would follow your example. I am entirely alone here; not a soul to help me, and I am wanted in half-a-dozen places at once; so I shall really be glad of your a.s.sistance. I suppose you are prepared to commence duty at once? That's right; then be good enough to take the launch, and go to the dockyard with this order for stores, and bring them off as quickly as possible. Just give them an overhaul, however, before taking them over, and satisfy yourself that they are good, sound, serviceable stuff. Those dockyard people have been trying to palm off upon me a lot of old junk, which must have been in store for the last twelve years at least. It is simply rotten, and would go like so much burnt thread in our first breeze of wind. Of course I refused to receive it, and have consumed a great deal of valuable time in getting sound stuff in place of it. Do not let them take you in; but _insist_ on having everything of the best. Now go; get back as quickly as possible, and remember, I shall trust to you to do your very best for the ship."

The boat was alongside, ready manned. I accordingly slipped down the side, and took command, with the feeling that I had suddenly become a personage of considerable importance.

On reaching the dockyard I found that I was only one of many who were there upon a similar errand to my own, and I had to await my proper turn. This occasioned a very serious loss of time; and when at length my turn came, the stuff which they offered me was so unmistakably bad, that even my comparative inexperience was not to be imposed upon, and I refused point-blank to accept it. I was thereupon told in a very off- hand way that I was quite at liberty to please myself as to whether I took or left it; but if I declined what was offered me, I should get nothing else; and without waiting for a reply, the storekeepers coolly left me, and began issuing to the midshipman whose turn came after mine.

So thorough a snubbing as this clearly showed me that my own unaided efforts would be wholly insufficient to enable me to carry out my instructions to Mr Annesley's satisfaction, and I was debating within myself whether it would not be better to go on board again and report my non-success, when an officer who was pa.s.sing stopped, eyed me sharply, and then held out his hand. It was my old skipper, Captain Brisac.

"Ah, Chester!" he exclaimed; "I am glad to see you, my lad--glad too that you are on your pins once more, though you are looking very thin and pale about the gills. How is the wound; pretty well healed up?

That's right; but you ought not to be standing about in this hot sun.

Are you here on duty?"

I told him I was, mentioning at the same time the annoyance and inconvenience to which I had just been subjected.

"Where is the stuff they offered you?" said he; "I should like to have a look at it."

It was still lying on the wharf, close at hand, and I pointed it out to him. It was a quant.i.ty of hemp cordage, for use princ.i.p.ally as standing-rigging. He turned it over, inspecting it carefully, laying open the strands here and there, and testing its quality both by sight and smell. Finally he turned upon one of the storekeepers who happened to be pa.s.sing, and said,--

"Here, you sir, is this the best stuff you have in store?"

The man hesitated and looked confused for a moment; then put a bold face upon the matter, and replied, "Yes, sir, it is; and rare good stuff it is, too; it's the best that's made."

"Oh! it is, is it?" retorted the skipper. "Then I think it is about time that the Admiral's attention should be directed to the quality of the rigging upon which the safety of his Majesty's ships and the lives of their seamen depend. Just lay that coil aside for half an hour, if you please; and if any one asks why you have done so, you may say it was at the request of Captain Brisac of the 'Audacious.'"

The man's visage lengthened out to a portentous extent. He saw he had brought his pigs to the wrong market for once, and he hurriedly exclaimed,--

"Beg pardon, sir, I'm very sorry the stuff is not to your liking; but I think we _can_ suit you, if you'll be so good as to step this way.

Perhaps that other _is_ rather old, but we've a lot of it in store, and we're bound to get rid of it somehow. Now here, sir, is some cordage that was only brought in fresh last week from the ropemaker's; how'll that do, sir?"

"Ah!" said the captain, examining it critically, "that is nearer the mark, decidedly. That ought to do for you, ought it not, Mr Chester?"

turning to me.

"Perfectly well, sir," I replied. "I should be quite satisfied to be served with rope of that quality."

"Have you your order with you?" asked Captain Brisac.

"Yes, sir," I replied; "here it is."

"Then serve this young gentleman at once," he said authoritatively to the storekeeper; "and be careful what you are about with that old 'junk,' or you will be getting yourselves into serious trouble over it."

The storekeeper went away to get some a.s.sistance, and while he was gone, I availed myself of the opportunity to thank the skipper for the service he had just rendered me; after which he shook hands, saying he was in a great hurry: but if I could get leave that evening, he would be very happy if I would dine with him at the "George" at six, sharp. I thanked him duly for his kind invitation, but declined it, as I felt that my absence might possibly be a source of inconvenience to Mr Annesley, which I explained.

"Quite right, Mr Chester--quite right," returned he; "_never_ allow pleasure to interfere with duty, if you wish to make headway in your profession. I shall perhaps be seeing Captain Hood--who is your new captain, I believe--this evening, and if so, I will put a spoke in your wheel for you. Good-bye!"