Under the Meteor Flag Part 9

AN IMPORTANT MISSION.

Once fairly at sea and out of reach of the enemy's shot, we had time to take a look at ourselves and realise the extent of our damages. When pa.s.sing over the same ground a few hours before, the "Juno" presented as pretty a picture as a nautical connoisseur could wish to see, with her hull recently painted, every spar in its place, and adjusted there to a nicety, her rigging in perfect order, and her white sails--the new look just worn off them, and barely stretched into their proper shape-- without a blemish or fault to mar their perfect appearance. _Now_, she pa.s.sed out to sea with her fore and main-topgallant-masts and mizen- topmast hanging over the side, the fore-topsail-yard down on the cap, the spankerboom shot away in the jaws, the flying-jib-stay and halliards cut through and the sail towing alongside, her canvas riddled with shot- holes, ends and bights of ropes streaming out in the wind everywhere aloft, and two 36-pound shot in her side. Luckily, however, our casualties ended here; for, notwithstanding the hailstorm of shot through which we had pa.s.sed, not a man on board was hurt.

We were busy the remainder of that night, and a good part of the following day, making good the damages sustained. By evening, however, we were all ataunto once more; and as soon as the work was finished, Captain Hood mustered the hands and made them a speech, thanking them, both officers and men, for the courage and determination with which all had co-operated with him in effecting the escape of the ship from an enemy's port, wherein she actually lay aground surrounded by armed ships, and with numerous heavily armed batteries opposing our departure.

Percival was specially referred to, his skill in piloting the ship in and out again being dwelt upon in highly commendatory terms; and then-- the skipper being a rare hand at turning out a neat speech and rounding it off with a compliment--the men were told that, having behaved so exceptionally well, their officers would now have no hesitation about engaging in any enterprise, however hazardous or hopeless it might appear, confident that the men they led would support them as long as they had strength to stand.

At the close of this speech the men, as in duty bound, gave three cheers, the hammocks were piped down, and life on board the "Juno"

resumed once more its normal conditions.

The first question which suggested itself to the skipper, after getting his ship once more into fighting order, naturally was what was to be done with the supernumeraries which we had on board. His instructions, it appeared, made no provision whatever for the possibility of such a _contretemps_ as had befallen us, and he was, in consequence, quite at a loss what to do. Finally, after talking the affair over with Mr Annesley, he resolved to take them back to Malta, and a course was accordingly shaped for that island. We accomplished the pa.s.sage in five days, and landed the men, who were glad enough to plant their feet on mother earth once more, after knocking about in their confined quarters for nearly a fortnight.

During our absence, information of the evacuation of Toulon by Lord Hood had reached the island, and it was taken quite for granted that, going to the place in ignorance of this important fact, as we were, we should inevitably fall into some trap and be made prisoners; when therefore we put in an appearance once more, and the details of our escape were made known, we immediately became the object of unbounded curiosity and admiration. Hundreds flocked to see the ship (many of them being intensely disappointed at the almost entire absence of visible indications of the peril through which she had pa.s.sed), and officers and men alike were pointed out and looked after in the streets, until we ran the greatest risk of becoming inordinately vain of our exploit. The admiration of the islanders did not end here, however; for it being deemed advisable to place the frigate in dry dock to examine her bottom and smooth her copper, after having touched the ground, as well as to make good a few defects which were beyond our own unaided powers, we were balled, _feted_, picnicked, and generally made much of for three days by the excitable and pleasure-loving inhabitants, at the end of which time, our repairs being completed, we were hurried away to sea with sealed orders, to be opened off Cape Spartivento.

We arrived off this headland on the 22nd of January, and Captain Hood then learned that we were to remain on the spot until the evening of the 24th, when, if no farther instructions reached him, he was to open a sealed paper which he found enclosed with his orders. The ship was accordingly hove-to and placed under reefed topsails, a private signal was hoisted at the main-royal-mast-head, and in order that the time might not be absolutely wasted, the crew were put through a special course of drill.

A sharp lookout was maintained, in order that there might be no possibility of our being pa.s.sed un.o.bserved by any craft bearing later instructions; but though we saw plenty of feluccas pa.s.sing along the coast, the only craft which came at all near us was a magnificent 40-gun frigate, which hoisted French colours and bore down towards us on our showing our ensign; but having approached within four miles and lying hove-to for half an hour, she resumed her original course to the northward, leaving us in a most unchristian frame of mind towards the admiral, whose orders tied us to the spot, and prevented our accepting the challenge she had given. We at first cherished the hope that if we did not go out to her, she would come down and attack us, but such a slice of good luck was not just then to fall to our lot.

The stipulated period of our stay off Cape Spartivento having at length expired, Captain Hood broke open the packet to which reference has already been made, and having acquainted himself with the farther instructions therein contained, orders were forthwith issued to make sail to the northward and westward.

We had a fine breeze from the eastward, to which we showed a heavy press of canvas; the frigate accordingly made short miles of the trip along the Sardinian coast, and on the following evening arrived off the Gulf of Ajaccio in Corsica, the coast-line being about twenty miles distant, and consequently "hull-down;" the mountain-chain, however, which forms as it were the backbone of Corsica, was distinctly visible, lighted up as it was by the gorgeous tints of sunset. Sail was now shortened to topsails, and the frigate hove-to.

While all hands were wondering more or less what the next move would be, I was sent for by the skipper to go to him in his cabin. On arriving there, I found him and Mr Annesley seated at the cabin-table with a decanter of port standing between them, gla.s.ses of the same at their elbows, and a large map spread out in the full light of the cabin lamp, which had just been lighted; the table being further littered with a large number of official-looking doc.u.ments.

As I entered the cabin, Captain Hood raised his eyes from the map, over which both officers had been earnestly poring, and said,--

"Oh! come in, Mr Chester, and bwing yourself to an anchor. Atkins! a wine-gla.s.s for Mr Chester. There, help yourself, young gentleman."

I poured out a gla.s.s of the port, wondering, as I sipped it, wherever the skipper managed to pick up so very excellent a wine; and when the steward had retired, closing the door after him, Captain Hood looked across the table at me, and said,--

"Mr Chester, I have been gweatly gwatified at the continued good weports which Mr Annesley makes of your conduct. He speaks vewy highly of your intelligence, persevewance, zeal, and couwage, and I--ah--may say that--er--I have myself noted fwom time to time your possession of those--ah--desiwable chawactewistics. Partly on this account, and partly because of your--ah--intimate knowledge of the Fwench language, I have selected you for the performance of a service in which all the qualities I have mentioned are--er--conspicuously necessawy. You will understand this more clearly when I explain that the service consists in the safe conveyance of certain vewy important doc.u.ments to the hands of a Corsican gentleman on sh.o.r.e yonder, in the face of unknown but possibly sewious difficulties from the numewous Fwench twoops occupying the island, and into whose hands the doc.u.ments in question must by no means be allowed to fall. I should hesitate vewy stwongly about intwusting one so young with a mission so delicate but for Mr Annesley's positive a.s.suwance that I may safely do so. Now, what say you? are you willing to undertake the service?"

To say that I _jumped_ at the offer would but feebly express the eagerness with which I answered in the affirmative. Here was one of those chances for distinguishing myself for which I had so ardently longed, and here too was the prospect of at least temporary freedom from the restraints of discipline and the monotony of shipboard, to say nothing of the possibilities of excitement and adventure involved in the performance of a secret service in the enemy's country. It was with the utmost difficulty I controlled my excitement sufficiently to listen to the skipper's instructions, and to absorb and master the information necessary to the successful conduct of the enterprise.

The map spread upon the table was a map of Corsica drawn to a large scale, and showing every road, stream, mountain-path, wood, chateau-- indeed I might almost say _every house_ on the island; and upon it was marked in red ink the various French posts, as far as they could be ascertained, while crosses in blue ink indicated the posts of the insurgent Corsicans. Captain Hood produced also a skeleton map of the island drawn to a very small scale, containing only such information as was necessary for my guidance; and during the delivery of his instructions frequent reference was made to both these maps, as well as to a ma.n.u.script book of what would be called "sailing directions" if it referred to a journey by water instead of by land, and from which I made brief notes from time to time, by way of memory-refreshers, in a tiny book with which Captain Hood furnished me. The skipper kept me with him for more than two hours--in fact until he had satisfied himself that I not only thoroughly understood what was required of me--which was very simple, being merely to find an individual, who was to be identified by certain pre-arranged tokens, and to deliver my despatches, or whatever they were, into his hands--but also that I had mastered every sc.r.a.p of information which he was able to give me. When at length he found that I was fully "posted up," he dismissed me to make my preparations, cautioning me to dress in plain clothes, and to exercise the utmost care that I carried no doc.u.ment or article of any description with me whereby I might be identified as belonging to the English service, "otherwise,"

he grimly observed, "they will hang you without hesitation on the nearest tree. One thing more," he continued, as I rose to leave the cabin; "as soon as you are landed, we shall proceed in search of Commodore Linzee's squadron, which we are ordered to join; it is therefore quite uncertain when you may have an opportunity to return to the ship; but as I have reason to believe we shall operate somewhere at the northern end of the island, as soon as you have accomplished your mission you had better make for either Calvi or Bastia, and when you can learn our actual whereabouts, seize the first opportunity which offers to rejoin. Here," handing me a packet, "is a sufficient amount of Fwench money to cawwy you handsomely thwough the business if no hitch occurs; if it does, you must exercise your ingenuity to get yourself out of the difficulty. Now go away and get weady, and--ah--er--I heartily wish you success. Good-bye."

He offered me his hand--with just the slightest perceptible touch of stiffness in the gesture--which I seized and shook so heartily in the excitement of the moment as to cause him to raise his eyebrows in astonishment at my audacity. The next minute I was on deck once more, with the cool night-air fanning my flushed and burning cheeks, while it urged the frigate through the water at a rate of about seven knots toward the lights of Ajaccio, which glimmered on the horizon broad on our starboard bow.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

THE ROAD TO AJACCIO.

My descent to the midshipmen's berth for the purpose of making my few preparations was the signal for a general fusillade of questions from my inquisitive messmates as to the why and wherefore of my summons to the cabin, and great was the disgust which each felt that _he_ had been pa.s.sed over in favour of so unimportant a personage as myself. It was quite true that no one of them could claim to possess more than the merest rudimentary knowledge of French, yet each was prepared with what he considered an amply sufficient reason why he should have been specially selected for the service.

Mr Midshipman Raleigh maintained that the duty was his by right, in virtue of his seniority; and as to his ignorance of French, that was a mere trifle which he was quite satisfied would never have proved the slightest impediment to his success.

Little Percy Neville--a blue-eyed, golden-haired lad whom not even a blind man could well have mistaken for anything else than pure Anglo- Saxon--flattered himself that "the cut of his jib" was so eminently French as to deceive even the most practised eye; while as to language, he could say _bonjour or bon soir_, and bow with the air of a born Parisian. These accomplishments were, he considered, amply sufficient to ensure his perfect safety while travelling, and to enable him triumphantly to accomplish his mission--if need were--in the full light of day, and under the very eyes of unsuspecting thousands.

Mr Robert Summers was of opinion that that was all very well, and _might_ do; but if _he_ had been entrusted with the duty, his first step would have been to proceed straight to Ajaccio, and there disburse some of the French coin in the acquisition of an organ and monkey, together with a full suit of picturesque Italian rags, all of which he knew would be easily procurable; and provided with these, he would have felt prepared to face with the most unruffled nonchalance the severest scrutiny of a whole regiment of French detectives--the acuteness of the mere soldiery he considered would have proved simply beneath his contempt.

Each of the other "young gentlemen" was equally ready to suggest an infallible scheme for baffling the vigilance of the enemy; and if the conversation had no other value, it at least served to amuse me while making my preparations for the expedition.

The money was mostly paper, and my first act was to carefully secrete it among the lining of the suit of "long togs" which I had decided to bend for my cruise ash.o.r.e. I then packed a small leather bag with a shirt or two, selecting such as--I say it with shame--I had been too lazy to mark, a pair of socks, a brush and comb, a piece of soap--afterwards rejected upon the urgent representation of Bob Summers that the French _never_ used soap, much less carried it about with them--and a few other necessaries of trifling bulk, together with a small sketch-book and a box of colours; my idea being that the best way to elude inconvenient attention was by neither courting nor avoiding it, and my intention was to endeavour to pa.s.s as a young German artist student on a sketching tour, a sufficient knowledge of German and drawing for such a purpose being among my accomplishments. Lastly, I summoned up courage to ask of Mr Annesley the loan of a pair of beautiful little pocket-pistols which I had frequently noticed when I had had occasion to go to his cabin.

This completed my equipment, and by the time that I was ready and once more on deck the frigate had approached to within some six miles of the land, and was in the act of heaving-to, it being considered that we were now as close in as it was prudent to go.

When I stepped on deck, Captain Hood was on the quarter-deck, talking to Mr Annesley and Mr Rawlings, the master--who was so far convalescent as to be able once more to resume the duties of his post--and as I approached the group, I heard the skipper remark, "And so you know Ajaccio well, Mr Rawlings?"

"Ay, ay, sir," responded the master, "almost as well as I know Portsmouth Harbour; I have been in there twice, and can put the ship wherever you want her, within a fathom or so, dark as it is."

"Is there not a ruin of some sort close to the water's edge, about six miles to the southward of the town?"

"There is, sir; an old chapel I believe it is. The ground rises rather steeply from the water's edge there, and is covered with trees. The ruin stands just on the edge of an over-hanging bank, about thirty feet above high-water mark; and the beach below is--or was when I saw it last--littered with stones and blocks of masonry which have fallen from the building."

"Would it be safe to attempt a landing there with a boat on such a night as this?" asked the skipper.

"Couldn't find a safer spot to land on anywhere in the island,"

confidently replied Rawlings. "The beach is all shingle, and pretty steep, bottom quite clear of rocks, and not a ripple there with the wind this way. Run the boat's nose up high and dry, and jump out on to the beach without wetting your feet. Then, as to the chance of being discovered, the place is dreadful lonesome, specially at night--they do say as it's ha'nted, though I can't vouch for the truth of the story; but I _do_ know this much, that the last time I was ash.o.r.e there, I took a stroll out as far as the ruin towards nightfall, and they told me as I don't know what would happen if I went there; n.o.body ever went a-near the place at nightfall, so they said."

"And _did_ anything happen?" inquired Mr Annesley.

"Lord bless you! no, sir. I enjoyed the walk amazingly; sat and smoked my pipe among the ruins, and watched the sun go down; stayed there till the moon rose, and then walked back again to the town, and never saw a soul within a mile of the spot all the while I was there."

"Does not the high road to Ajaccio pa.s.s close by the ruin?" inquired the skipper.

"Within a cable's length of it," replied Rawlings. "And when once you're in the road, turn to the left, and it's all plain sailing for the rest of the way right into the town. There's only one turning in the road, and that's just after you leave the ruin; but it is only a narrow road; it turns to the right, and leads off somewhere among the hills."

"Just so," remarked the skipper in a tone of great satisfaction. "What Rawlings says agrees most accurately with the information supplied to us, you see," he continued, addressing Mr Annesley; "so I think if young Chester only follows out his instructions with ordinary care, he should have no difficulty in finding the place to which he is sent."

"None whatever, I should imagine," returned Mr Annesley. "He is very young, I admit, to be entrusted with such important doc.u.ments, but on that very account he is all the less likely to attract attention; and I have the utmost faith in his readiness of resource, which I believe is quite equal to the task of keeping him clear of all difficulty. Do you still feel quite confident of success?" he asked, turning to me.

"Perhaps I ought not to say quite so much as that, sir," I replied, "but I feel no nervousness whatever, and I will do all I possibly can to succeed."

"That is quite sufficient," said the skipper. "And now it is time you were off. Let them man my gig, the crew taking their sidearms with them. And as you know the place so well, Mr Rawlings, I will ask you to take command of the expedition, and kindly put Mr Chester fairly in the main road to Ajaccio. Remember, Mr Chester--the first turning to the right."

"Ay, ay, sir," I replied. A few brief and final instructions were given me; the skipper once more shook hands, and wished me success, Mr Annesley following suit; and then, the gig being by that time manned and in the water, I slipped down the side and seated myself in the stern- sheets alongside old Rawlings, the bowman shoved off, and the crew, dropping their oars with a splash into the water and dashing it into liquid fire, stretched out to their work, sending the light boat dancing over the wavelets toward the distant sh.o.r.e, and leaving far astern a luminous wake, with six small whirlpools of fire eddying on each side of it.

We pulled steadily on for half an hour, and then, that no precaution might be omitted, the crew were ordered to m.u.f.fle their oars. This done, we resumed our way, but at a much quieter pace, the land rising up before us an uniform black ma.s.s against the deep violet of the star- studded sky, without the faintest suggestion of detail of any kind whereby to direct our course. How Rawlings could possibly hit a spot so absolutely invisible as the ruin seemed quite incomprehensible to me; but there is no doubt he was specially gifted in that respect, it being apparently impossible for him to forget or confuse the slightest details of any locality which he had once visited.

Be that as it may, we paddled gently on until the boat was so completely within the shadow of the land that we were in utter darkness, it being impossible to distinguish the face of the stroke oarsman from where I sat. A few more strokes, and Rawlings uttered in a low tone the word "oars!" they were noiselessly laid in, and in another moment the boat's bow grated upon the shingle of the beach.

"Now as soon as we have landed, shove off to about fifty or sixty fathoms from the beach, and lay on your oars, ready to pull quietly in again when you hear me whistle three times. But if I _hail_ instead of whistling, bend your backs and send her in upon the beach with all your strength, and then jump out and shove her off again the moment I'm aboard, for in that case I shall have Johnny c.r.a.paud after me," said Rawlings to the c.o.xswain, as we stepped gingerly forward to the bow of the boat.

As soon as our feet touched the shingle, we turned round, and giving the boat's nose a vigorous shove launched her off the beach, with enough stern-way upon her to carry her the prescribed distance from the beach without the aid of the oars. As we stood for a moment watching her, we were much disconcerted to observe how distinctly she could be seen upon the surface of the starlit water by eyes which had become accustomed to the surrounding gloom.

I should have been seriously apprehensive of almost instant discovery, but for Rawlings's steady adherence to his original statement that no one would ever approach the place after dusk upon any consideration. As it was, I felt that the sooner Rawlings was once more on board and on his way back to the ship, the easier should I be in my mind; I therefore proposed that we should push ahead for the high road without further pause.