CHAPTER V
FITTING OUT
The cheque for the payment of the _Creole_ was filled up and handedover, the agent giving a formal receipt and possession of the vessel,and undertaking to sign the necessary papers as soon as they could bedrawn out.
"You are evidently lucky about ships," William Martyn said as he leftthe agent's office with Horace. "You have got a little wonder in the_Surf_, and there is no doubt about the _Creole_ being a bargain. Whenthe war was going on she would have been snapped up at double theprice, and would have been cheap at that. Now the first thing to do isto get first and second mates. Directly I have got them I can put agang of riggers on board. I will go to the Naval Club, and see thelist of the officers on board the ships here. I am pretty sure to knowsome of them, and shall find out from them whether there are any of myold messmates down here. If they don't know of any, we might hear ofmen to suit at the Club. There are always plenty of men here and atPortsmouth waiting about on the chance of meeting some officer theyhave served under and getting him to put in a word for them at theAdmiralty."
"I will walk down with you to the Club, but I won't go in with you;one is only in the way when people who know each other are talking.And besides, Martyn, don't you think before you do anything you oughtto see about your clothes?"
"Of course I ought; I never gave the matter a thought before. But Icertainly could not put my foot on the quarter-deck of one of HisMajesty's ships in this turn-out. No. The first thing to do is to dropinto my father's agent to draw some money. Then I will go into aslop-shop and get a suit. I know a place where they keep really decenttogs. A man often has to join in a hurry, and wants a fit-out at halfan hour's notice. Then I can order the rest of the things at thetailor's I used to get my clothes from. 'Pon my word, now you speak ofit, I am ashamed to be going out in these things. They were an oldsuit that I put on when bad weather set in, and they have shrunk sothat the sleeves don't come half-way down to the wrists, and thetrousers are up to the ankles. As a master's mate it didn't matter sovery much, for masters' mates are very often out at elbows, but ascommander of the _Creole_ it is a different thing altogether."
Martyn was lucky in picking up the undress uniform of a lieutenantthat just fitted him.
"I can let you have it at that price, because I got it a bargain," theman said. "The owner came in here a few weeks ago with a man besidehim. He had just come down to join his ship, which was to sail in afew hours, and as he stepped off the coach was served with a writ by aJew he had borrowed money of two or three years before. It was only afew pounds, but to make up the sum he had to sell some of his things,and this suit was among them."
"And nicely you ground him down in the price, I have no doubt," Martyngrowled. "However, I have got the benefit of it. Now, Horace, I canshow at the Club. Just take your knife out and cut this strap off theshoulder. I can't go about as a full-fledged lieutenant, though I havepassed."
They were walking up the main street when a voice exclaimed:
"Hullo, Martyn! is that you?" and a young officer shook him warmly bythe hand.
"Why, Dacent, this is luck. I am glad to see you indeed. It is threeyears since we ran against each other last; five since we servedtogether in the _Nonpareil_. What are you doing?"
"I am third in the flagship here. What are you doing? I met O'Connorthe other day; he told me he had run across you at Malta, and that youhad gone into the merchant service like so many other of our oldfriends."
"That was so, Dacent. It was of no use kicking my heels on shore whenI hadn't the ghost of a chance of getting appointed to a ship. So Ihad to swallow my pride and ship in a merchantman. We were wrecked atthe back of the Wight in the storm last week, and I have had the luckto get a fresh appointment, and that is what I am here for. I was juston my way to the Club to see if I could find any of my old chums. Youare just the fellow to help me. But first let me introduce Mr.Beveridge. He is the son of my owner. Half an hour ago he completedthe purchase of the craft that I am to command. She is a beauty. Idon't know whether you know her. She is called the _Creole_, aschooner of a hundred and fifty tons. She is lying up the river."
"I know her well enough," Dacent said, as he shook hands with Horace."She was brought in here the week after I joined. I thought she was aspretty a looking craft as I ever set eyes on. I congratulate you, oldfellow. There are not many things that you won't be able to show yourheels to. But what line is she going to be in? She would make a finecraft for the Levant trade."
"That is just where we are going, Dacent, but not to trade. I willtell you what we are going to do, but it must be kept dark. I don'tknow whether they might not look upon it as a breach of the neutralitylaws. Mr. Beveridge is an enthusiast for the cause of Greece, and weare going to take out a cargo of guns and ammunition, and then weshall hoist the Greek flag, and do a little fighting on our ownaccount with the Turks as a Greek privateer."
"By Jove, I envy you, Martyn. That is a thousand times better thansticking in Plymouth Sound with nothing to do but to see the menholy-stone the deck, and fetching and carrying messages. Now, what isit I can do for you?"
"Well, in the first place, I want a couple of officers; for choice, Iwould have one who has passed, and could take the command in caseanything happened to me. I don't care whether the second is a mate ora midshipman who has pretty nearly served his time."
"I know just the man for you, for your first. There is Miller--youremember him?"
"Of course; I was with him in the _Minerva_ frigate in the WestIndies. He was a capital fellow. Is he to be had?"
"Yes; I saw him only yesterday. He has been two years out of a berth,and no chance of getting a ship, and he was looking out for a berth onboard a merchantman, but he had not heard of one when I saw him. Hegave me his address; here it is--the Anchor Inn; it is a little placenot far from the dock gates. I expect Jim has no money to spare. Hisfather is a clergyman near Falmouth. I asked him why he didn't lookfor a ship there. He laughed, and said he didn't mind shipping intothe merchant service anywhere else; but he shouldn't like to do it sonear home, after swaggering about there in the king's uniform."
"I will go down at once. It is just one o'clock, and we are likely tocatch him in."
"Well, will you and your friend dine with me at the Club at sixo'clock, Martyn? We can chat there better than we can on board, and wehave lots to tell each other since we last parted."
The invitation was accepted, and then Martyn and Horace set off tofind the Anchor.
"There is one thing I have not asked you," the former said, as theywent along. "How about prize-money, because you know that makes a gooddeal of difference. I don't suppose there will be much to be got,because there are not many craft flying the Turkish flag, and the seaswill be swarming with Greek craft who are half-pirates even in time ofpeace. Still we may capture a Turkish man-of-war brig or something ofthat sort, and she may have treasure on board such as pay for thetroops. I suppose we should share according to the ordinary privateerscale."
"Certainly," Horace said. "My father has no idea of making money bythe thing, and I can certainly promise that he will agree to the usualscale whatever it is."
"That is right. I thought that it would be so, and, indeed, althoughofficers might go without, you would hardly get men to risk theirlives unless there was a chance of prize-money."
"It would not be fair to ask them to do so," Horace said. "Of coursethat would be understood. All these sort of arrangements are in yourhands. My father particularly said so; he really knows nothing aboutthese matters. You must make all these arrangements just as if youwere the owner, and please arrange what you consider liberal terms toeveryone. My father has made up his mind to spend a certain sum ofmoney which he has long laid by for the purpose, and I am sure we aremore likely to succeed in helping the Greeks if everyone on board isquite contented and happy. Oh, there is the Inn; I won't go in withyou. You had much better talk it over with him by yourself."
Ten minutes later Martyn came out with a short
square-built youngfellow of about his own age, with a good-humoured merry face, whichwas at present beaming with satisfaction.
"That is all settled," Martyn said. "Mr. Beveridge, let me introduceto you Mr. James Miller, first lieutenant of your father's schooner,the _Creole_."
"It is a perfect godsend," Miller said, as he shook hands with Horace."I began to despair of getting a ship here, and I am precious glad nowI didn't, for I should have been mad if I had met Martyn, and found Ihad missed this chance. It will be glorious fun, and it looked as ifone were never going to have a chance of that sort of thing again."
"And he knows of a young fellow who will suit us for our second,"Martyn said, "Jack Tarleton. He was with us in the _Minerva_. Iremember him only as a jolly little mid. I had just passed then, andhe was the youngest; but he lives close to Miller, and he says he hasgrown up into a fine young fellow. He is about nineteen now. He hasnot passed yet, for he was laid on the shelf four months before histime was up, and not having passed, of course he is even worse offthan either of us. Not that it matters so much to him, for his fatherhas an estate; but as Jack is the second son, and loves hisprofession, he is so anxious to be afloat again that he told Millerthe other day he would ship before the mast if he could not get aberth before long. Miller will write to him this afternoon, and hewill be here to-morrow night or next morning. I have asked him to comeround and have lunch with us at the Falcon. Mr. Beveridge and hisfather sail with us, Miller, in the double capacity, as I understand,of owners and fighting men."
Horace laughed. "In the first place, I am not going to be called Mr.Beveridge or Mr. Anything," he said. "I shall be regarded as a sort ofthird officer, and do my work regularly while we are at sea. I know alittle about sailing already," he said to Miller, "so I sha'n't bequite a green hand."
"No, indeed," Martyn said. "Horace, if I am to call him so, has got afifteen-ton yacht I picked up for him, and a first-rate little craftshe is. He went out in a big gale last winter, and rescued the crew ofa wreck, the _Celadon_."
"I saw it in the paper," Miller said warmly, "and thought what aplucky thing it was. That is capital. Then you will be like one ofourselves. Well, what are you going to do first, Martyn?"
"First we are going to lunch. Then you will write your letter toTarleton and post it. After that we will charter a boat and go up andlook at the _Creole_ again. You haven't seen her yet, and we haven'tseen her since the purchase was concluded, and a craft always looksdifferent when you know she is yours. After making an overhaul we willgo ashore to the nearest yard and arrange for her to be docked, andher bottom cleaned and scrubbed; I expect it wants it pretty badly.That will be enough for to-day. As soon as she is in the water againwe will set a gang of riggers at work. I shall take charge of thatpart of the business, and I will leave it to you to hunt up a crew. Wehave got a boatswain. At least I have no doubt we have."
"How many men are you going to take, Martyn?"
"She mounts four guns each side and a long Tom--I don't know what themetal is yet--and she is heavily sparred. Of course she hasn't got hertopmasts in place, but her masts are very long, and I have no doubtshe shows a good spread of sail; those craft always do. We shall wanta strong crew, for, if we fight at all, it will be against craft agood deal bigger than ourselves. There is any amount of room on themain deck, where they carried the slaves. Of course we needn't settleat present, but I should say we ought to carry from forty to fiftymen."
"I think we ought certainly to have a strong crew," Horace said, "soas to be able to land a strong party if we wanted to; the extraexpense would be of no consequence."
"We must pick our men, Miller--smart active fellows, and, of course,men-of-war's for choice. If we can't get enough here, we will sail herround to Portsmouth and fill up there. There ought to be plenty ofprime seamen to be had. They would jump at the chance of sailing insuch a craft as ours."
Miller was delighted with the ship, and they now especially examinedthe cabin arrangements. The saloon ran across the stern of the ship.It was handsomely fitted up in mahogany. Leading off this, on the portside, was a large cabin that had evidently been the captain's. This,of course, would be Mr. Beveridge's. On the starboard side were threecabins. Next to these was the steward's pantry and cabin; and facingthis, on the port side, two other state-rooms.
"It could not have been better if it had been built for us," Millersaid. "There are three cabins on the starboard side. Horace will takeone of the three, I suppose, and that will leave a spare cabin in casewe take a passenger we are likely to want."
"What are you thinking of, Miller?"
"I was thinking that as we are going to fight, it is not by any meansimpossible that some of us or the men may be wounded."
"I should certainly say it was quite possible," Martyn laughed.
"Well, you see as long as it is only a clip from a cutlass or a fleshwound through the arm, I fancy we might patch it up between us with abit of plaster and a bandage; but if it comes to an amputation orgetting a bullet out of the body, or anything of that sort, who isgoing to do it?"
"By Jove! you are right, Miller. I had not thought of that. I amafraid we shall have to take a surgeon with us. It would never do togo into action in the Levant, where there is no chance of finding anEnglish doctor, without having at least a surgeon's-mate on board."
"Of course not," Horace agreed; "that is an absolute necessity. Willyou see about it at once, please."
"There is no difficulty in getting surgeons," Martyn said. "Of courseyoung fellows who have just done walking hospitals are as plentiful aspeas; but we had better get hold of a man who has been knocking aboutfor a few years in the navy, and who has had some experience ingunshot wounds. There must be plenty of good men about, for they havesuffered just as we have by the reduction. I will speak to Dacentabout it this evening, and get him to ask one of the naval surgeonshere if he knows a man. One or other of them is almost sure to do so.Well, the spare cabin will be for him. So now we are fixedcompletely."
"We shall have to take off a little bit from the main deck, because myfather's two Greeks will certainly come with us. Only one can sleep inthe steward's cabin, so we shall want a small cabin for the other anda place for cooking. They are first-rate cooks, both of them; and Iexpect they will undertake the cooking altogether for us."
"That can very easily be managed," Martyn said. "We can knock a doorthrough this bulkhead, and run another bulkhead up across the deck,seven or eight feet farther forward. I have not forgotten that Greek'scooking; and if we live on board this craft as you did on the _Surf_,I can tell you, Miller, we needn't envy an admiral."
"Well, I like a good dinner, I must own, Martyn, though I can do withsalt-horse if necessary."
"But are you sure, Horace," Martyn said, "that your father wouldn'tprefer having the cabin astern all to yourselves? When we are about itwe could put the bulkhead farther forward, and make a ward-room forus."
"No, I am sure he would not wish that," Horace said. "I will write tohim when we get ashore and ask him; but I am sure he would find itmore pleasant our being all together, and it would be much better forhim than being by himself. My father is a great scholar," he explainedto Miller, "and is always poring over books. I am sure it will do hima lot of good getting away from them altogether and being with people.Besides, that private cabin of his is a good size, and there will beplenty of room for him to have a table and an easy-chair in itwhenever he is disposed to shut himself up. However, I will hear whathe says."
After leaving the ship a visit was paid to one of the shipbuildingyards, and arrangements made for the _Creole_ to be brought into dockat high-tide. On getting back to the inn Horace wrote to his father onthe various questions that had arisen, and then to Marco, telling himto come over by coach, and to bring Tom Burdett with him. They thenwent to dine at the club with Dacent, who entered with great zest intotheir arrangements.
"I can't tell you what is your best way of setting about getting thearms; but I should say go to Durncombe's. They
are by far the largestship-chandlers here, and I should say that they could supply anythingfrom an anchor to a tallow-dip. They must have fitted out innumerableprivateers, and bought up the stores of as many prizes. They may notbe able to supply you with as many small-arms as you want; but if yougive them an order for a thousand cannon, I have not a doubt theycould execute it in twenty-four hours, and that at the price of oldiron. As to the muskets, they could no doubt collect a big lot here,and get more still from Portsmouth. Those of course would beprincipally ship's muskets, no longer wanted or taken from prizes. Idon't suppose they would get enough, and of course you would wantthem in fair condition; but they would put advertisements for them inthe Birmingham papers, or, likely enough, would know firms inBirmingham who had bought up muskets sold out of the army."
"What do they buy them for?" Horace asked.
"Oh, they contract for the supply of those South American States, fortrade in Africa and the East, or for the supply of the armies ofnative princes in India. I think, if I were you, I would not go to himdirect, but would get the agent you got the _Creole_ from to undertakeit, and get the terms settled. He would get them a good bit cheaperthan you could."
"No doubt he would," Martyn agreed, "especially if we agreed to payhim so much for getting it, instead of so much commission. When a mangets a commission he has no interest in keeping the price down; justthe contrary. I will ask him casually, to begin with, what is the costof muskets in fair condition, and at what price we could pick upguns--say six, eight, and twelve pounders--complete, with carriages."
"I don't know about the carriages, Martyn; but I know the guns fetchless by a good bit than their weight of old iron. They cost more tobreak up, in fact, than they are worth; and they are using them forposts, and things of that sort, for the sake of getting rid of them. Ishould say that you could get a couple of hundred guns of those sizesto-morrow for a pound apiece, and I believe that you might almost getthem for the trouble of carting away, for they are simply so muchlumber. Powder is a glut in the market too. I should say hundreds oftons have been emptied into the sea in this port alone, for when themerchant skippers found they no longer required to carry it, it wascheaper for them to throw it overboard than to get rid of it in anyother way."
When they returned to the Falcon that evening they found Miller hadshifted his quarters there from the little inn in which he had beenstaying, and two days later Jack Tarleton also arrived there. He was agood-looking young fellow, nearly six feet in height, slight atpresent, but likely to fill out, with a somewhat quiet manner, but, asHorace soon found, a quick appreciation of the humorous side of thingsand a good deal of quiet fun. On the same day Marco arrived with TomBurdett, who was delighted when Horace disclosed the project to him.
"I should think I would like to go, Mr. Horace. Why, bless you, I havebeen feeling almost as if I was rusting out at Seaport, except whenyou were at home. Why, it will be like giving one a fresh lease oflife to get at one's own work again."
He was at once installed on board the _Creole_, which on that day hadbeen let out of the dock again with her copper scrubbed until it shonelike gold. Miller had as yet had no time to see about the men, and Tomat once undertook this part of the business.
"I know every tavern down by the waterside and the places where menare likely to be found. I will soon pick you up some prime hands. If Ican't get enough of them here, I will take a run to Bristol. There isa big trade there, and there will be plenty of men-of-war's-men to behad for the asking for such a job as this."
"How about Seaport, Tom?" Horace asked.
"Well, we will take Dick; but there are not many I would care abouthaving from there. They are good enough in their fishing-boats, but Iwould rather have men who are accustomed to bigger craft. Besides,though fishermen are good sailors in some ways, they are notaccustomed to discipline, and are always slovenly in their way ofdoing things. Besides, if I persuaded young fellows to come fromthere, and any of them got killed, their fathers and mothers wouldlook black at me when I got back. No, I don't think I will have anyonebut Dick."
By this time a letter had come from Mr. Beveridge in answer toHorace's letter.
"I quite agree with you," he said, "that the officers should be paidfairly. I see that, as you say, it is not a thing that you could verywell arrange with them. Will you tell Mr. Martyn, from me, that theterms I propose are twenty guineas a month for him, eighteen for thesecond officer, and fifteen for the third; and that, in case of any ofthem losing a limb or being disabled, I shall settle upon them apension the same as that to which they would have been entitled attheir rank in the navy in the same case. The ship appears to me to bewonderfully cheap. I knew nothing about it, but quite expected that itwould cost three times as much. Certainly I should not wish for themto have a separate cabin. It will be much more pleasant for me, if notdisagreeable to them, for us to live together. As for what you sayabout prize-money, tell Mr. Martyn to arrange as he proposes,according to the ordinary usage in privateers. It is a matter to whichI have given no thought, but he shall give me the particulars when wemeet. As you know, I have no intention of making profit out of theenterprise."
Two days later Martyn told Horace that Dacent had introduced him toone of the surgeons, who knew a young doctor who would, he thought,suit. "His name is Macfarlane; he is, of course, a Scotchman--most ofthe naval doctors are either Irish or Scotch. He sailed with him assurgeon's-mate in a large frigate, where they had a good deal ofexperience in wounds, and he has a high idea of his skill. He is avery quiet sort of fellow, but a pleasant messmate. He has been fullsurgeon for some time now. His ship was paid off a fortnight ago, andthe man who told me of him had a letter from him a few days since,saying that, as he had no interest he thought that he had but littlechance of getting afloat again, and asking him to let him know if heheard of any opening, either ashore or in an Indiaman. He thought hewould suit us very well, so I said that I would speak to you aboutit."
"I should think that will be just the thing, Martyn."
"Very well, then, I will see the surgeon to-morrow, and get him towrite and offer him the berth at the regular naval rate of pay. Ofcourse we sha'n't want him to join till we are ready to sail."
Some days later a reply was received, accepting the berth.
For the next fortnight work proceeded rapidly. Stores of all kinds forthe voyage were brought on board and stowed away. Sixty cannon werestowed down in the hold, with thirty carriages for them, the lattertaking up too much room to be carried for the whole of the guns. Eighttwelve-pounders, in place of the eight-pounders before carried by her,and a long eighteen-pounder were placed in the hold in readiness tomount on deck when they reached the Levant. The riggers and paintershad finished their work, the decks had been planed and holy-stoneduntil they were spotlessly white, and the tall spars and gear were allin their place. The guns had cost only about as much as Miller hadsaid, and they could have obtained any number at the same price. Theagent had made a contract with the ship's chandlers for five thousandmuskets complete with bayonets, in good order, and delivered on board,at ten shillings each. Some five hundred of these had been collected,and--after passing muster, by an armourer sergeant Martyn engaged forthe purpose--put on board. The rest were to be sent by canal fromBirmingham to Liverpool, and thence shipped round to Plymouth. Fivetons of gunpowder in barrels, twenty tons of shot for the cannon, andtwo hundred thousand rounds of ammunition for the muskets were alsoarranged for. These were to be shipped at the last moment frommagazines at the mouth of the Sound.
Below, everything had been done to make the cabins as comfortable aspossible, and Dacent declared that she was altogether too neat andcomfortable for anything but an admiral's yacht. Tom Burdett hadpicked up at Plymouth twenty-five smart sailors, all of whom hadserved in king's ships; and then, going to Bristol, had brought asmany more from there. Uniforms, closely resembling those of men-of-warsailors, had been served out to them, but instead of the straw hatthey wore red woollen caps. The officers had only to exchange
theirnavy buttons for others with an anchor to be complete; Horace haddonned similar attire.
It was just three weeks after Horace left home that he wrote to hisfather saying that all was now in readiness, and that they could sailwithin an hour of his arrival. They were at once going out to taketheir powder on board, and would remain at anchor off the magazines,and that he himself should be at the Falcon when it was time for thefirst coach to arrive after the receipt of his letter, and shouldremain there until his father came. Mr. Macfarlane, the surgeon,arrived by the coach that evening, and was put down at the Falcon.Martyn and Horace went out when they heard the coach stop.
"That is the doctor, for a guinea," Martyn said, as a tall bony manclimbed down from the roof, and began very carefully to look after hisluggage.
"I think you must be Doctor Macfarlane?" he said, going up to him. "Myname is Martyn."
"I am very glad to see you, Captain Martyn," the doctor said; "I takeit as a sign that I shall have a pleasant time that my commandershould meet me as I get off the coach."
"I am captain only by courtesy, and shall hardly consider that I havegot my brevet rank till we hoist the flag to-morrow. This is Mr.Beveridge, the owner's son, he will sail with us as third officer. Ihave ordered a room for you, doctor. Boots will carry your things up."
"Thank you; I will see to them myself, and join you in thecoffee-room. I am not fond of trusting to other folk;" and he followedthe servant upstairs with his baggage.
Martyn laughed as he went into the coffee-room with Horace. "Cautiousyou see, Horace, and right enough to be so; I think we shall like him.There is a pleasant tone in his voice, and I have no doubt he willturn out a good fellow, though, perhaps, rather a character."
The doctor soon came down.
"Eh, man," he said, "but it is weary work sitting with your legsdoubled up all those hours on a coach. Four-and-twenty hours it issince I got up at Salisbury. And so, Mr. Beveridge, we are going outto fight for the Greeks. I misdoubt, sir, if they will do muchfighting for themselves. I was three years east of Malta. There isgood in them, we may take it that there is good in them, but it isvery difficult to get at; at least that was my experience."
"They have not had much chance, I think, doctor, so far."
"And how large is your ship, Captain Martyn?" the doctor said,changing the subject suddenly.
"They call her a hundred and fifty, but she has a light draft of waterand would not carry that, yet she has excellent accommodation below,as you will say when you see her to-morrow."
The conversation then turned on naval matters, and the stations andships that both Martyn and the doctor knew; and when they separatedfor the evening Martyn and Horace agreed that the doctor was likely tobe a pleasant acquisition to their party.
Marco had been intrusted with the entire charge of laying in storesfor the cabin, and these had arrived in such profusion that WillMartyn had demanded whether he was victualling the ship with cabinstores for a voyage round the world.
It had been given out that the ship was bound for Lisbon, but the newsof her destination had gradually leaked out, although pains had beentaken to get the military stores on board as quietly as possible.Sympathy with Greece was general, however, and although the youngofficers were quietly joked by their naval acquaintances as to theircargo for Portugal, no official inquiries were made on the subject.
"I sha'n't be sorry, Horace," Will Martyn said, as they were rowed offin the gig for the last time before getting up anchor, "when we getsome of our heavy stuff out of her. One way or another she will have ahundred and twenty tons of stuff on board when we have taken in ourpowder, and though I don't at all say that she will be overladen shewill be a foot too low in the water to please me, and she wouldn't beable to do her best if she were chased in her present trim."
"The little difference in speed won't matter much on our way out,"Horace said.
"No, not as to time, of course, a day more or less is no matter;still, one always likes to get all one can out of one's ship, Horace,and it is a triumph to slip past other craft. If you have a slow craftyou don't mind whether other things leave you behind in an hour or twohours; you jog along and you don't worry about it; you are like a mandriving a heavy cart. But when you are in a crack schooner you arelike a man on the road with a fast horse and a light gig, you expectto go past other things, and you like to do it in good style."
"Well, nothing will beat her in looks, I think, Will."
"No, that is quite certain. She is a picture."
Everything was done on board the _Creole_ in man-of-war fashion.Tarleton stood at the top of the ladder to receive the captain as hecame on board. He touched his cap to Martyn, who touched his inreturn.
"Everything ready for getting under weigh, Mr. Tarleton?"
"Everything quite ready, sir."
"Then shorten the chain a bit; man the capstan."
Jack Tarleton gave the order. Tom Burdett's boatswain's whistle rangout loudly; the capstan-bars were already fixed, and a dozen men ranmerrily round with it till the whistle sounded again.
"The anchor is short, sir," Tarleton sang out to Martyn.
"Very well, leave her so, Mr. Tarleton. Will you make sail, Mr.Miller?"
The orders were given, the mainsail, foresail, and fore-staysailhoisted, and the jibs run out on the bowsprit. As soon as thehalliards were belayed and coiled down, the capstan-bars were mannedagain, and the anchor weighed. The tide had just turned to run out,there was a gentle breeze blowing, and as the two jibs were run up the_Creole_ began to steal through the water.
"Port your helm!" Martyn said to the man at the wheel; "let her comeround easy. Slack off the main-sheet; that will do now. Get hertopsails on her, Mr. Miller."
Horace looked up with a feeling of pride and delight at the cloud ofwhite sail and at the smart active crew, all in duck trousers, blueshirts, and red caps. Once out of the river the sheets were hauled in,the yards of the fore-topsail were braced as much fore and aft as theywould stand, and the _Creole_ turned her head seaward, looking, asMartyn said, almost into the wind's eye. The red ensign was flyingfrom the peak of the mainsail, and from the mast-head a long pennantbearing her name.
"She is slipping through the water rarely, Miller," Will Martyn said,as he looked over the side.
"Yes, she is going six knots through it, and that, considering howclose-hauled she is and that the wind is light, is wonderful."
"She would go a good knot faster," Martyn said, "if she had fifty tonsof that stuff out of her. Those slavers know how to build, and nomistake, and I don't think they ever turned out a better craft thanthis."
It was not until late in the afternoon that the _Creole_ droppedanchor off the magazine, where she was to take in her powder, asMartyn ran her out twenty miles to sea and back again to stretch herropes and, as he said, let things shape down a bit. When the trip wasover there was not a man on board but was in the state of the highestsatisfaction with the craft. Both close-hauled on the way out and freeon her return they had passed several vessels almost as if these hadbeen standing still, going three feet to their two; and although therewas but little sea on, there was enough to satisfy them that she hadno lack of buoyancy, even in her present trim.
As soon as the anchor was down and the sails stowed Marco announcedthat dinner was ready, for all had been too much interested in thebehaviour of the schooner to think of going down for lunch. It was thefirst meal that they had taken on board beyond a crust of bread andcheese in the middle of the day, and as they sat down, Will Martyntaking the head of the table, Horace, as his father's representative,facing him, and the others at the sides, Miller said with a laugh, ashe looked at the appointments, all of which had been sent over fromthe house two days before by Zaimes: "This is rather a contrast,Martyn, to the cockpit of a man-of-war."
"Rather. I never did dine with an admiral, but this is the sort ofthing that I have always fancied it would be if it had entered intothe head of one to invite me. What do you think, Tarleton?"
"I feel shy at present, sir, and as if I oughtn't to speak till spokento."
"You will be spoken to pretty sharply if you say 'sir' down below. Ondeck, as we agreed, we would have things in man-of-war fashion; but weare not going to have anything of that sort when we are belowtogether."
The dinner was an excellent one, and though the expectations of Millerand Tarleton had been raised by Martyn's encomiums of the Greek'scooking they were far surpassed by the reality. "It is a dinner fitfor a king," Martyn said when the cloth was cleared away and adecanter of port placed on the table.
"There is one misfortune in it. If this sort of thing is going to lastwe shall never be fit for service in an ordinary craft again, we shallbecome Sybarites. Is this the sort of dinner you always have at home,Horace?"
"About the same, I think," Horace laughed. "My father takes noexercise and has not much appetite, and I think he likes nice things;and it is one of the Greek's great aims in life to tempt him to eat.We always have a very good cook, but Zaimes insists on having a fewlittle things of his own cooking on the table, and as he is generallyat war with the cook, and they leave in consequence about every threeor four months, he often has the dinner altogether in his hands till afresh one arrives, and I am amused sometimes to see how Zaimes fidgetswhen my father, which is often the case, is so occupied with his ownthoughts that he eats mechanically and does not notice what is beforehim. Zaimes stands it for a minute or two and then asks some questionor makes some observation that calls my father's attention back towhat he is doing. They have both been with him for two-and-twentyyears and are devoted to him. They are hardly like English servants,and talk to him in a way English servants would not think of doing.They are always perfectly respectful, you know, but they regardthemselves, as he regards them, as friends as well as servants."
"Well, gentlemen, we will drink the usual toast, 'The King, God blesshim;' that is duty. Now fill up again, here is 'Success to the_Creole_.'" When the toast was drank Martyn went on:
"How did your father pick them up, Horace?"
"It was just after he went out to Greece, which was directly after heleft college. He was at Samos, and got leave from the Turkish governorto visit the prison. In one of the cells were Zaimes and Marco, whowas then a boy about sixteen. They were condemned to death; they hadbeen smuggling, and a Turkish boat had overhauled them. They hadresisted. Four of the men with them had been killed in the fight, andseveral of the Turks. These two had been both severely wounded andmade prisoners. My father was new to that sort of thing then. After hehad been a year or two in Greece he knew that it would take a king'sfortune to buy out all the prisoners in the Turkish jails, but beingonly out there a month or two he was touched at the sight of the twoprisoners. They were both very handsome, though, of course, pale andpulled down by their wounds and imprisonment, and Zaimes, who was thespokesman, had that courteous gentle manner that my father says allthe Greeks have when they are not excited."
"At any rate he was very much interested and went off to the governoragain, and the Turk was glad enough for a bribe of a hundred pounds togive him an order for the release of the two prisoners, on conditionthat they were to be let out after dark and at once put on board acraft that was sailing at daybreak next morning. My father went withthem, and after that they absolutely refused to leave him, andtravelled with him in Greece for some time and fought very pluckilywhen some Klepts once tried to carry him away into the mountains. Thenhe bought a small craft and established his head-quarters at Mitylene,and for a year lived there and cruised about the islands. When he camehome he offered the felucca to them, but they refused to take it, andbegged so hard for him to take them home with him that he agreed to doso, and they have proved invaluable to him ever since."
"Your father is lucky in having got hold of two such men," Martynsaid. "I believe the lower order of Greeks are fine fellows in theirway. They are quarrelsome and passionate, no doubt, and apt to whipout their knives at the smallest provocation, and there is no tradethey take so kindly to as that of a bandit; otherwise I believe theyare honest hardworking fellows. But as for the upper class of Greeks,the less I have to do with them the better. When they get a chancethey grind down their countrymen a deal worse than the Turks do. Theyare slippery customers and no mistake. I would rather take a Turk'ssimple word than a solemn oath from a Greek."
"No; veracity is hardly one of their conspicuous virtues," the doctorput in quietly. "I take it that the ancients were so accustomed toswear by their gods, even after they had ceased to believe in them,that they came to consider that an oath by them was not binding, andso got into the way of lying generally, and their descendants havenever amended their ways in that particular since. On more than oneoccasion, when there was trouble between our sailors and the Greeks, Iattended their courts, and for good downright hard swearing I neverheard them approached. I don't wonder that the Turks refuse to allowChristians to give evidence in their courts. We shall see when we getout, but I have grave doubts whether there has been any revolution atall, and whether it is not a got-up thing altogether, just to seewhat the rest of the world says to it."
The others laughed.
"There is one thing, doctor," Miller said; "we have heard fromEuropeans who are out there of what has been done, it does not comefrom the Greeks only."
"That is a confirmation, certainly, but it is well known thattravellers' tales must always be received with caution. It has been sosince the days of Herodotus. When a man gets away from his own countryhe is apt to get a certain looseness of the tongue. We will wait untilwe get out there before we form any strong opinion about it."
By this time they had finished their coffee, and Martyn, rising, said:"Mr. Tarleton, I shall be glad if you will go along the main-deck andsee that the men are making themselves comfortable; to-morrow we willdivide them into watches and tell them off to their stations and getthings into working order."
Accordingly, in the morning the crew were divided into two watches,and the boat's crews told off, and then the work of getting the powderand small ammunition on board began; the latter did not take long, asit was already in a flat into which it had been discharged three daysbefore from the coaster that had brought it from Liverpool. The flathad therefore only to be towed alongside and the cases swung on boardand lowered into a portion of the hold that had been divided off fromthe rest by thick bulkheads to form a magazine. The ammunition andpowder were all on board and stowed away, the ship was washed down,and the men piped to dinner by eight bells. The officers went down anddivided the men into messes, examined the food, and saw thateverything was comfortable.
"More room here than there was on board the _Surf_, Dick," Horace saidas he stopped a moment on his rounds to speak to the young sailor.
"Yes, sir, one can stand upright here. But the _Surf_ was a good boattoo."
After dinner the men were told off to their various duties and dividedinto crews for the guns, when these should be in place. The firstlieutenant (for it was agreed that they should be called lieutenantsand not mates) and Horace took the starboard watch, Tarleton and theboatswain the port watch. The men were formed up, inspected, and putthrough cutlass drill for an hour, after which the watches by turnswere exercised in setting sail, reefing, lowering, and furling, sothat each man should know his place and duty. Then they weredismissed.
"They will be a first-rate crew when they have worked together for afew days," Martyn said. "I could not wish for a smarter set of men. Ifwe meet anything about our own size I shall have no fear of giving agood account of her. I have no opinion whatever of the Turks assailors; they are good soldiers, and have always proved themselves so,but more lubberly sailors never went to sea."
"Well, we are not likely to meet anything else," Horace said.
"I don't know, lad. The Greeks at the best of times are pirates atheart, and just at present they are not at all likely to be particularwho they lay hands on. I saw in the paper only yesterday, they hadattacked and plundered an Austrian craft, and it is proba
ble that theymay have done the same to a dozen others, only as a rule they scuttleany ship they may seize and nothing is ever known about her. Shipscan't be too careful when they are in Greek waters, and a vesselwrecked on any of the islands is looked upon as a lawful prize. Thereis no fear of our being taken by surprise by the Turks, but I shalltake precious good care that we are never caught napping when we areanchored anywhere in the Greek Archipelago. After dinner, Horace, Iwill go ashore with you in the gig. I don't think it likely yourfather will be down by the night coach, as he would only get yourletter this morning, but he may come; at any rate you have got to waitnow at the Falcon till he turns up."