Under the Meteor Flag Part 7

"There was a vague rumour floating about Portsmouth, a few days ago, that Lord Hood--by the way, I wonder if he is in any way related to our skipper?--is to take a fleet to Toulon, though for what purpose n.o.body seemed to know; I hope we shall not be ordered to join," said Smellie.

"I hope not!" remarked Percival. "_I_ also heard the rumour to which you refer, and I fancy there must be some truth in it, for it went so far even as to specify by name several ships as having been selected to form part of the fleet, and I know that there has been a pretty general overhaul and refit going on with many of them. There is a large French fleet at this moment lying in Toulon harbour, and I am of opinion that the expedition--if such there is to be--is for the purpose of getting hold of a few of them. It is said that there are no less than thirty- four ships, many of them of large size, lying there ready for sea, while they have one seventy-four, and two forties--all very fine vessels--on the stocks and about ready for launching. If Lord Hood can take the pick of such a fleet as that, we should be able to lay up in ordinary the old 'Juno' and a few more like her. But I do not think we need distress ourselves much respecting the Toulon fleet. If Lord Hood wants any frigates, he will take them out with him. _Our_ mission, I expect, will be to cruise up and down the Mediterranean, doing the best we can for ourselves; our skipper has, no doubt, influence enough to ensure that he shall not be hampered by being attached to blockading fleets, or anything of that kind, where you get a great deal of work and very little prize-money."

Percival's a.s.sumption turned out to be correct. We called at Gibraltar, and remained a couple of days, giving some of us, of whom I happened to be one--an opportunity of exploring this extraordinary fortress, from whence we went on to Malta, remained there a week, and were then ordered out to cruise. We were told that the French had seventeen ships-of-war cruising in the Mediterranean, but we seemed to be altogether out of luck's way, for we never had the good fortune even to sight one, and, beyond picking up some half-a-dozen insignificant French traders, we did positively nothing for six entire months.

At length, about the middle of December, the ship requiring a slight refit, we bore up for Malta, arriving there on the 23rd of the month-- just in time for the Christmas festivities. We of the c.o.c.kpit contrived to get our full share of leave, and enjoyed ourselves immensely, but as nothing occurred particularly worthy of note, I shall not enter into details as to the pranks we played, and our several modes of seeking enjoyment.

On the 4th of January, 1794, we received orders to take on board 150 supernumeraries for the garrison at Toulon, the rumour of the proposed fleet under Lord Hood having in the meantime become an accomplished fact, and that gallant officer having accepted the surrender of the port from the Toulonese, in trust for Louis XVII. We received these supernumeraries on board early next morning, and sailed immediately after the completion of the embarkation.

It took us a week to make the pa.s.sage, the wind being fair but light, and the weather beautiful during the whole time. On the fourth day out, poor old Rawlings, the master, complained of severe shooting pains in the head, accompanied by giddiness and nausea, and the next day found him confined to his berth in a high fever.

We arrived off the port at about 10 p.m. It was a beautiful night, the moon, just entering her second quarter, beamed softly down upon us from the cloudless, star-spangled sky, and a light air of wind from the southward just filled our sails and fanned us along at a rate of about four knots. When about five miles off, we hoisted lights for a pilot, the skipper being anxious to get in that night, so as to discharge the supernumeraries the first thing in the morning, the vessel being somewhat crowded. Three-quarters of an hour elapsed, during which we looked in vain for a boat coming off to us, when, having approached within a couple of miles of the entrance to the harbour, Captain Hood gave orders for the ship to be hove-to.

Another half-hour pa.s.sed away, and still no sign of a pilot.

"If poor Rawlings had not been in the sick-bay--aw--we should have been snugly at anchor by this time," said the skipper to Mr Annesley. "I'll be bound to say that the--aw--old fellow has been in and out of the place a dozen times at least, and he would have taken us in like a--ah-- like a shot."

"Quite likely, sir," returned Mr Annesley, with his telescope to his eye; "I think it would be difficult to name a port which he has _not_ been into. It is unfortunate that he should be laid up just at this juncture. They must be very early birds in Toulon, or surely somebody would have made out our lights before this. And,"--he lowered his telescope--"it is very queer, but I cannot make out the British fleet in there, surely we ought to see them from where we now are?"

"Not if they are in the inner harbour, which I--aw--suspect they are.

The Italian bwig which came in on the day we sailed was from Ma.r.s.eilles, and her master weported a succession of stwong easterly winds hereabouts, which would natuwally send the Bwitish fleet farther in; we shall find them there all wight; where else could they be?" remarked the skipper.

"Very true, sir," observed the first lieutenant. "Shall we fill on her and heave about? I see no sign of a boat coming off."

"Yes, if you please," was the answer. "By-the-bye, I wonder if young Percival has ever been inside there; if he has, pewhaps he could take us in."

"I scarcely expect he has ever seen the inside of the harbour, sir,"

said Mr Annesley; "still, we can ask him. Shall I pa.s.s the word for him?"

"Yes, do," said the skipper. "I should like to get in to-night, if possible."

"Pa.s.s the word for--oh! here he is," said the first luff, as Percival strolled aft from the forecastle, whence he had been taking a good look at the harbour. "Mr Percival, Captain Hood wishes to know if you have ever been into Toulon?"

"No, sir, I never have," replied Percival, addressing himself to the skipper direct; "but I have just been having a look at the place, and I feel sure I could take the ship in. Mr Rawlings, on the first day that he was taken ill, brought out his chart, and showed me the way in, with all the marks and bearings of the fairway, and I have been able to make out every one of them quite distinctly. It is a fine, clear night, with little wind and no sea, so that if we _did_ happen to touch anywhere we should do no harm, but I think I could safely promise to take her in without scouring her copper."

"Vewy well, then, Mr Percival, I'll wisk it. Take charge, sir, and do the best you can for us," said the skipper.

The main-topsail was filled, and as soon as the ship had way enough on her, we hove about, and bore away for the harbour, with a hand in the fore-chains on each side, taking frequent casts of the lead, and Percival on the p.o.o.p, conning the ship. As we drew in towards the harbour, sail was shortened, and we crept in under topsails and jib only.

At length we safely entered the inner harbour, Percival's skill having proved fully equal to the occasion, and there, as had been expected, we found a number of ships lying snugly at anchor.

"Ah!" said the skipper, "here is the admiral, just as I expected. Do you see that bwig, Mr Percival?"

"Yes, sir," returned Percival, "I wanted to weather her, but we shall not do it, the wind is too light, and the tide too strong; we must tack under his stern, as there is shoal water not far to leeward of where he is."

"Then, in that case, we'll give her a little more muslin," said Mr Annesley. "Haul out the driver, and down with the fore tack and sheet; look sharp, my lads! Now, Mr Percival, we are all ready."

We were now drawing up on the brig's starboard quarter, and almost within hailing distance. Captain Hood was preparing to hail the vessel, when a figure was seen on the taffrail of the stranger, and the next moment some indistinct words were hoa.r.s.ely bellowed at us.

"_What_ does he say?" said the skipper, turning to the group of officers standing near.

"Couldn't exactly make out," said one. "Didn't hear very distinctly,"

said another. "I thought it sounded like French," said Percival.

"Oh!" said the skipper, "he is of course asking who we are. His Bwitannic Majesty's fwigate 'Juno,' from Malta, with supahnumewawies for the garrison," he added, roaring back between his hands at the motionless figure on board the brig.

"Viva!" was the reply, accompanied by the wave of a navy cap.

"He's Fwench," said the skipper; "one of the fellows who has suwendered to our fleet. Can any of you gentlemen speak Fwench well enough to ask him which is the Bwitish admiral's ship?"

There was no one, it appeared, with quite sufficient confidence in his knowledge of the French language to undertake this duty, so I stepped forward and, with becoming modesty, offered to obtain whatever information was required. Permission being given, I approached the side, and squeaked out, in the most manly tones at my command, the proposed inquiry.

The figure gesticulated violently, then stooped down to commune with three or four more, whose heads could now be seen just above the taffrail; finally he raised himself to an upright position, and shouted back, "Yesh, yesh!"

"I'm afraid he did not understand you, Mr Chester," said Mr Annesley.

"Try him again."

I did so, with even more confusing results than before.

"Ask him which is the Bwitish fleet," suggested the skipper.

I put this question also, and the confusion appeared to become worse confounded; some half-a-dozen replies coming back to us all jumbled up together, English and French words being so hopelessly intermixed, that it was utterly impossible to make head or tail of what they were saying.

We were by this time pa.s.sing close under the brig's stern, and Percival was remarking to the first lieutenant that it was quite time to heave about, as he was sure we must be close upon the shoal, when the voice, which had hailed us first, shouted out for us to "Luff!"

"Hard down with your helm!" exclaimed Annesley; "over with it, my man: tacks and sheets! Ah! we have cut it too fine," as with a gentle surge the frigate was brought up all standing on the shoal. "Away aloft, men; clew up and haul down; furl everything!"

The topsail and jib halliards were let run, the canvas was clewed up, and in a minute or two more all was snugly stowed. The men were just in the act of laying in off the yards, when a little puff of wind coming down the harbour caught the frigate's bow, and to our great gratification paid her head round until her fore-foot sc.r.a.ped off the bank. The order was at once given to let go the anchor; the cable smoked out through the hawse-pipe, and the ship swung round, head to wind. We found, however, that her heel was still fast on the shoal, and the rudder immovable; it was therefore determined, as the tide was on the turn, to hoist out the launch at once, and run away a kedge, in order to haul the ship off while the operation was still possible.

Tackles were accordingly got up on the fore and main-yardarms, and in less than five minutes the launch was in the water alongside.

"Where is Mr Chester?" said the first lieutenant, looking round.

"Here, sir!" I replied, emerging from the shadow of the bulwarks, where I had been taking a peep at things in general through an open port, from which I had observed, among other things, a six-oared gig pull from the brig, and make towards the town; but foolishly I failed to report the circ.u.mstance, not at that moment attaching the slightest importance to it. "Jump into the launch, Mr Chester, and take charge," said Mr Annesley. "I want the kedge run away here, about two points on our port bow. You must not go farther to windward than that, or the tide will take our quarter, when we float, and drive us down on the brig. Now off you go, and be as smart as you can."

"Ay, ay, sir!" I replied, touching my cap, and away I scrambled down into the launch, where I found the kedge already stowed, with hawsers coiled down on top of it until the boat's stern was barely a couple of inches out of water.

"Shove off and give way, men!" I exclaimed, as my foot touched the thwart; the bowman shoved the boat's head off, the oars dropped into the phosph.o.r.escent water with a luminous splash, and we pulled down the harbour in the direction indicated by Mr Annesley. We pulled steadily on until all the hawser in the boat had been paid out, when we let go the kedge, and hailing the frigate to "heave in," paddled back alongside.

While running out the kedge, I had observed a boat pulling toward the "Juno," and when we reached the frigate, we found this craft alongside.

In the meantime the frigate had been hove off the bank without much difficulty, and the tide acting strongly on her hull the moment that she floated, she had drifted down to her kedge, which had been lifted, and the anchor having been tripped as she drifted over it was once more let go, just as we got alongside. The launch, not being required any farther at the moment, was pa.s.sed astern, the crew being first ordered out of her. In order to regain the frigate's deck, it was necessary for us to pa.s.s over the boat alongside, which was lying in the wake of the gangway, and as we did so, I noticed that the eight men composing her crew were unmistakably French, and that, strange to say, they were fully armed. This struck me as so singular a circ.u.mstance, that I resolved to have a good look at the other individuals who had come off to us, and who were doubtless on deck in confabulation with the skipper. I found them, as I expected, on the quarter-deck, talking to the captain and the first lieutenant. There were two of them, apparently French officers; but the one who was talking spoke excellent English, and was, at the moment when I drew near the group, explaining to Captain Hood that, in compliance with a regulation of the port, and the commanding officer's orders, it would be necessary for the ship at once to proceed higher up the harbour to the quarantine ground, there to perform ten days'

quarantine, and that he, the speaker, was deputed to pilot the ship then and there to her new berth.

"Phew!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the skipper. "Quarantine, eh? with all these people on board; this is a pretty business, truly. I can't understand it at all; there is no sickness at present at Malta, and we carry a perfectly clean bill of health. Surely there must be a mistake somewhere. Before taking up a berth in this quarantine ground, I should like to communicate with Lord Hood. Can you point me out his ship, monsieur?"

"You cannot see her from here, Monsieur le Capitaine," replied the Frenchman. "Besides, an interview with the British Admiral will avail you nothing; he is doubtless retired by this time, and, even if he were not, he could not interfere; he has no authority whatever in the present matter."

I thought I detected a covert smile of derision pa.s.sing over the speaker's face as he said this, and I turned to see whether I could detect anything of the kind on that of his companion, but I found he had withdrawn to the gangway, apparently to call his people up out of the boat, for they were just coming up over the side, as I looked. In another moment he sauntered back, and rejoined the group from which he had so quietly slipped away.

"Do you say that we cannot see the British flag-ship from here, sir?"

inquired Mr Annesley. "Then pray where is she? It seems to me that every ship in the harbour is within view from here; yet, now I come to look, I cannot see a single British ship among them all. Does it not strike you, sir, that there is something rather peculiar about this business?" turning to the skipper.