CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
Many with trust, with doubt few are undone. LORD BROOK.
Doubt wisely: in strange way To stand inquiring right, is not to stray; To run wrong, is. DONNE.
When the hatches were taken off on board of the privateer, theprisoners, as they came up, were handed into the boats. Jerry stood atthe hatchway, with his cutlass in his hand, making his sarcastic remarksupon them as they appeared. A short interval had elapsed, after it wassupposed that everybody had come from below, when a tall, thinpersonage, in the dress of a landsman, crawled up the hatchway.
"Halloo!" cried Jerry; "Mr Longtogs, who have we here? Why, he must bethe _padre_. I say, mounseer, _je_ very much suspect, _que vous etes_what they call a Father Confessor, _n'est-ce pas_? Devilish good idea.A privateer with a parson! What's your pay, mounseer?--a tenth, ofcourse. Little enough too for looking after the souls of such a set ofdamned rascals. Well mounseer, _vous etes prisonnier_, without benefitof clergy; so hop into that boat. Why, confound it, here's another!"continued Jerry, as a second made his appearance. "He's the clerk, ofcourse, as he follows the parson. Come, Mont' Arrivo Jack! What acock-eye the rascal has!"
During this elegant harangue, which was certainly meant for his ownamusement more than for their edification, as Jerry had no idea but thatthey were belonging to the privateer, and of course could not comprehendhim, both the parties looked at him, and at each other, withastonishment, until the first who had appeared addressed the latterwith, "I say, Paul, did you ever see such a thing before? Damn it, whyhe's like a sixpenny fife,--more noise than substance."
Jerry at once perceived his mistake, and recollected that the master ofthe vessel which they had boarded had mentioned that two Englishmerchants had been taken out of her by the privateer, with the hopes ofransom; but, nettled with the remark which had been made, he retortedwith--
"Well, I'd recommend you not to attempt to play upon me, that's all."
"No, I don't mean, for I should only make you squeak."
"You are the two gentlemen who were detained by the privateer, Ipresume," said Pearce, the master, who had come on board to superintendthe necessary arrangements previous to her being sent in.
"We are, sir, and must introduce ourselves. My name is Mr PeterCapon--that of my friend, designated by that young gentleman asCock-eye, is Mr Paul Contract. Will you oblige us with a boat to go onboard of the frigate, that we may speak to the captain?"
"Most certainly. Jump into the first cutter there. I am sorry you havebeen so unpleasantly situated, gentlemen. Why did not you come on deckbefore?"
Peter did not state the real ground, which was to secure their property,which was below, from being plundered by the privateer's crew; but,wishing to pay off Jerry for his impertinence, replied--
"Why, we did look up the hatchway several times, but there was somethingso awful, and, I may say, so un-English-like, in the appearance of thatofficer, with his drawn sword, that we were afraid; we could not imagineinto whose hands the vessel had fallen--we thought it had been capturedby the Yahoos."
"Houyhnhnms, more likely. You'll find I'm a bit of a horse," repliedJerry, in a passion.
"By Jove, then, you're only fit for the hounds," observed the gentlemanwith oblique vision; "I should order you--"
"Would you? Well, now I'll order you, sir," replied the youngster,whose anger made him quite forget the presence of his commandingofficer--"Have the goodness to step into that boat."
"And I shall order you, Mr J---," observed the master, withasperity--"I order you to go into that boat, and take these gentlemen onboard, and to hold your tongue."
"Ay, ay, sir. This way, sir," said Jerry to Mr Peter, making him apolite bow, and pointing to the boat at the gangway--"In that direction,sir, if you please," continued Jerry, bowing to Mr Paul, and pointingto the quarter of the vessel.
"And why in that direction, sir?" observed Paul, "I am going on board ofthe frigate."
"I know it, sir; it was considerate on my part: I was allowing for theangle of obliquity in your vision. You would have exactly fetched theboat."
The indignation of Mr Paul was now at its height; and Pearce, themaster, who was much annoyed at Jerry's excessive impertinence, which heknew Captain M--- would never have overlooked, detained the boat for aminute, while he wrote a few lines to Price, requesting him to send thebearer of it to the masthead, upon delivery, for his impertinentconduct. "Mr J---, take this on board, and deliver it from me to thecommanding officer."
"Ay, ay, sir," replied Jerry. "Shove off there, forward."
Mr Peter looked Jerry earnestly in his face for some time, as they werepulling on board.
"Well now, damn it, I like you, if it's only for your excessiveimpudence."
"A negative sort of commendation, but I believe it the only one that hehas," replied the other, in a surly tone.
"Highly flattered, sir," replied Jerry to Mr Peter, "that you shouldperceive anything to induce you to like me; but I am sorry I cannotreturn the compliment, for I really cannot perceive anything to like youfor. As for your friend there, I can only say, that I detest all_crooked_ ways.--In bow forward!--way enough. Now, gentlemen, with yourpermission, I'll show you the road," said the youngster, climbing up theside.
Jerry, who had some suspicion that the note was not in his favour, tookthe liberty, as it was neither sealed nor watered, of reading it underthe half-deck, while Price was showing the two gentlemen into the cabin.Not to deliver a note on service was an offence for which CaptainM--- would have dismissed him from the ship; but to be perched up, likea monkey, at the mast-head, in the afternoon, after having fought like aman in the morning, was very much against the grain. At any other timehe would have cared little about it. He went upon deck again, where hefound Prose on the gangway--"Well, Prose, my boy, how are you?"
"Why, upon my soul, Jerry, I am tired to death. Seven times have I beenbackward and forward to that abominable privateer, and now my tea isready, and I am ordered to go again for these gentlemen's things."
"Well, that is hard. I will go for you, Prose, shall I? Where's theboat?"
"All ready, alongside. Well, now, it's very kind of you, Jerry, I dodeclare."
Jerry laid hold of the man-ropes, and began to descend the side--andthen, as if recollecting himself of a sudden, said, "Oh, by the bye, Ihad nearly forgot. Here's a note from the master to Mr Price. Give ithim, Prose."
"Yes, Jerry, I will," replied Prose, walking over to the side of thequarter-deck where Price was carrying on the duty, while Jerry made allthe haste he could, and shoved off in the boat.
"A note, sir, from Mr Pearce, the master."
"Hum," said Price, running it over. "Mr Prose, go up to the masthead,and stay there till I call you down."
"Sir!" replied Prose, aghast.
"No reply, sir--up immediately."
"Why, sir, it was--"
"Another word, sir, and I'll keep you there all night," cried Price,walking forward, in furtherance of the duty he was carrying on.
"Well, now, I do declare! What have I done?" said Prose, with awhimpering voice as he reluctantly ascended the main-rigging, notunperceived by Jerry, who was watching the result as he pulled on boardof the privateer.
"Come on board for these gentlemen's clothes, sir," said Jerry,reporting himself to Mr Pearce, who, not a little surprised to see him,inquired--
"Did Mr Price receive my note?"
"Yes, sir, he did."
"Why, I requested him to masthead you!"
"Many thanks, sir, for your kindness," replied the youngster, touchinghis hat.
Pearce, who was annoyed that his request should not have been compliedwith, stated his feelings on the subject to Price, when he returned tothe ship in the evening.
Price declared that he had sent Prose to the masthead, and had notcalled him down until eight o'clock. The affair was thus explained, andJerry was pardoned for the ingenuity of his _ruse de guerre_, while allthe comfort t
hat was received by the unfortunate Prose, was beinginformed, on the ensuing morning, that it was all a mistake.
The prize being now ready, Captain M--- desired Courtenay to take chargeof it, and select two of the midshipmen to accompany him. His choicefell upon Seymour and Jerry: the latter being selected rather for hisown amusement, than for his qualities as an officer. The distance toJamaica, to which island he was directed to proceed, and from thencewith his crew to obtain a passage to Barbadoes, was not great, andCaptain M--- did not like to have the frigate short manned; he wastherefore not allowed to take more than ten seamen with him, fiveprisoners being sent on board, to assist in navigating the vessel. MrCapon and Mr Contract, at their own request, went as passengers.
In the afternoon, as soon as the provisions were on board, Courtenayreceived his written orders, and in a few hours the frigate was out ofsight. They had barely time to stow away everything in its place, andmake the necessary arrangements, when a heavy North East swell, andlowering horizon, predicted a continuance of the fair wind, and plentyof it. So it proved; the wind increased rapidly, and the men found itdifficult to reduce the canvas in sufficient time. Before dark, thewind blew with considerable force, not steadily, but in fitful gusts:and the sun, as he descended in the wave, warned them, by his red andfiery aspect, to prepare for an increase of the gale. The schooner flewbefore it, under her diminished sail, rolling gunwale-to in the deeptrough, or lurching heavily as her weather quarter was borne up aloft bythe culminating swell. All was secured for the night; the watch wasset, and Seymour walked the deck, while Courtenay and the rest wentbelow, and at an early hour retired to their beds.
Among other reasons for selecting our hero as one of his assistants,Courtenay was influenced by his perfect knowledge of the Frenchlanguage, which might prove useful in communicating with the Frenchprisoners, who were sent on board to assist in working the vessel.Jerry had also boasted of his talent in that way, as he wished to go inthe prize; and, although the reader, from the specimen which he has had,may not exactly give credit to his assertions, yet Courtenay, who hadnever heard him, believed that he was pretty well acquainted with thelanguage.
But, soon after they had parted with the frigate, when Courtenay desiredthe French prisoners to lay hold of the ropes and assist in shorteningsail, they all refused. Seymour was not on deck at the time; he hadbeen desired to superintend the arrangements below: and although he hadbeen informed of their conduct, he had not yet spoken to the prisoners.Two of them were sitting aft under the lee of the weather-bulwark, asSeymour was walking the deck to and fro. They were in earnestconversation, when Seymour stopped near to them, carelessly leaning overthe weather-quarter, watching the long following seas, when he overheardone say to the other--
"_Taisez, peut-etre qu'il nous entend_."
"_Nous verrons_," replied the other--who immediately rose, and addressedSeymour in French relative to the weather. What he had previously heardinduced our hero to shake his head, and continue to look over theweather-quarter, and as Seymour only answered in the English negative toa further interrogation, the prisoners did not think it worth while toremove out of his hearing, but, satisfied with his not being able tocomprehend them, sat down again, and resumed their conversation. Thelurching of the vessel was a sufficient reason for not walking the deck;but Seymour, to remove all suspicion, took another turn or two, and thenagain held on by the ropes close by the Frenchmen. The wind blew toofresh to permit him to catch more than an occasional sentence or two oftheir conversation; but what he heard made him more anxious to collectmore.
"_Ils ne sont que seize, avec ce petit misere_," observed one, "_et noussommes_--" Here the rest of the sentence was lost. Seymour reckoned upthe English on board, and found that, with Billy Pitt, whom Macallan hadallowed Courtenay to take with him as his steward, they exactly amountedto that number. The latter epithet he considered, justly enough, to bebestowed upon his friend Jerry. A few minutes afterwards, heintercepted--
"They'll throw us overboard, if we do not succeed--we'll throw themoverboard, if we do."
"_Courage, mon ami, il n'y aura pas de difficulte; nous sommes tropforts_," replied the other, as, terminating their conversation, theyrose and walked forward.
It was evident to our hero that something was in agitation; but at thesame time it appeared perfectly incomprehensible, that six prisonersshould have even formed the idea of attempting the recapture of a vesselmanned with sixteen Englishmen, and that they should consider themselves_so strong_ as to insure success. Determined to report what he hadheard to Courtenay, Seymour walked the remainder of his watch, wasrelieved, and went below to his hammock.
The wind had increased during the night; but as it was fair, and the skyclear, and the sun shone bright, the breeze was rather a matter ofcongratulation when they met at breakfast in the morning, although Peterand Paul complained of the violent motion of the vessel having takenaway their appetite. Seymour reported to Courtenay the fragments of theconversation which he had overheard; and, insane as appeared to be theidea of recapture, the latter agreed with him that it demanded cautionon their parts: but as it would appear very opposite to the Englishcharacter to take open measures against six prisoners, when they were sonumerous, he contented himself with desiring all the arms and ammunitionto be stowed in the cabin, and gave orders that the prisoners, as theyrefused to work, should not be allowed to come on deck after dusk,--andthen gave the affair no further thought. Seymour was aware that,although it was his duty to report the circumstance, he had no right topress the matter upon Courtenay, who was to be supposed the best judge;still he was not satisfied. He had an unaccountable foreboding that allwas not right. He turned the subject in his mind until dinner wasannounced by Billy Pitt, which put an end to his reverie.
The violent jerking motion of the vessel made it no easy task to retaina position at table, which was securely lashed. As for placing on itthe whole of the dinner at once, decanters, etcetera, that would havebeen certain destruction; a plate and spoon for their soup was all whichBilly Pitt, who was major-domo, would trust them with. Paul, who wasnot the best sailor in the world, had secured to himself the seat towindward, and it consequently fell to his lot to help the pea-soup,which was placed at the weather-side of the table. To save time andbreakage,--two important things in a sea-mess,--they all held their ownplates, which they thrust in towards the tureen from the differentquarters of the table to receive their supply. Paul having helped thosenearest to him, rose from his chair that he might see to fill the plateson the other side of the tureen. He was leaning over, his centre ofgravity being considerably beyond the perpendicular, when a heavy seastruck the vessel, and threw her nearly on her beam-ends, pitching Paulright over the table to leeward. With the tureen, which he did notforget to take with him, he flew into Jerry's arms, and they rolledtogether on the floor. The contents of the tureen were rapidlydeposited in the open bosom of Jerry, who disengaged himself from theembraces of his enemy as fast as he could, amidst the laughter of hiscompanions.
"Well, you asked for soup," observed Courtenay.
"Yes, and my friend has helped me very liberally," replied Jerry, whowas not at all out of humour, except when he was foiled with his ownweapons. In the meantime, Paul, who was a little stunned with the blowhe had received on his head, had continued on the floor rolling in thepea-soup, and was just attempting to get on his legs.
"You've got it all to yourself there, Mr Paul. As you seem to like it,perhaps you would prefer a spoon," said Jerry, offering him one at thesame time.
"I say, Paul, what a capital harlequin you would make," observed Peter.
Paul, who had recovered his legs, and now clung on by the table, lookedan answer horribly asquint, as if he did not admire the joke; but heresumed his seat at the table.
The remainder of the dinner was brought down without further accidentoccurring; and by the time it was over, as the bottle had to be passedround, and everybody was obliged to drink off immediately, and put h
iswine-glass inside his waistcoat to save it from perdition, they all werevery merry and happy before the repast had been concluded. "There,"said Jerry, stroking himself down when he had finished his cheese, as ifhe were a Falstaff; "a kitten might play with me now."
"More than one dare do with me," rejoined Peter, "for I'm cursedlyinclined to _shoot the cat_."
But as the second evening closed in, the sky was loaded with heavyclouds--the scud flew wildly past them--the sea increased to mountainshigh--and the gale roared through the rigging of the schooner, which wasnow impelled before it under bare poles. They were really in danger.The hatches were battened down fore and aft--the ports were knocked outto allow the escape of the water, which poured over in such volumes aswould otherwise have swamped the vessel--and Courtenay and his crewremained on deck until dawn of day, when the violence of the gale seemedto have abated.
Courtenay desired Seymour and Jerry to turn in, and relieve him at eighto'clock. Our hero and Jerry went down into the cabin, where they foundthe two passengers, who, although they had not come on deck during thenight, had not retired to bed. Peter was sitting up to windward on thelocker, looking very pale and very sea-sick. Paul was on thecabin-floor, with one hand holding on by the leg of the table, and abottle of brandy in the other. His prayer-book he had abandoned duringa fright, and it was washing about in the lee-scuppers. Jerry wasdelighted, but put on a rueful face.
"Well," observed Paul, who was nearly frightened out of his wits, "howis it now?"
"Worse and worse," replied Jerry; "there's nine inches water in thewell."
"Oh, my God!" cried Paul, who was not very _au fait_ at nauticaltechnicalities,--raising one eye up to heaven, while the other appearedto rest upon the bottle of brandy.
"But why don't you turn in?" said Jerry: "we can go to the bottom justas comfortably in bed as anywhere else."
"I agree with you," replied Peter, who had often been at sea, and knewvery well that all was right, by the two midshipmen coming off deck."My mother prophesied that I never should die in my bed; but I'mdetermined that I will."
"You had better turn in, Mr Paul," said Seymour, kindly; "I'll ring forthe steward."
Billy Pitt made his appearance. "By gad, gentlemen, the damned schoonerunder water."
"Under water!" cried Paul, with dismay. The bottle was applied to hismouth, as if he was determined to leave as little room as possible forthe element which he expected instantaneously to be struggling in.
With the assistance of Billy, Paul was placed in one of the standingbed-places at the side of the cabin. Jerry put his brandy-bottle at theside of his pillow--kindly informing him that he would have anopportunity of taking a few more swigs before he went down, for thewater was only up to her bends at present. Peter was already in the cotnext to him, and Seymour and Jerry turned in, without taking off theirclothes, in Courtenay's bed on the other side of the cabin. Before theyhad fallen asleep, they heard Paul cry out, "Peter! Peter!"
"Well, what do you want?"
"Do you think there are any hopes?"
Peter, who wished to frighten his companion, replied gravely--"I amafraid not; but, Paul, I've just been reflecting upon the subject. Herewe are, two men considerably on the wrong side of forty. We haveenjoyed our youth, which is the happiest period of our life. We are nowfast descending the hill to old age, decrepitude and disease--whatavails a few more years, allowing that we are spared this time? Don'tyou perceive the _comfort_ of my observations?"
Paul groaned, and made no answer; but even the creaking of the timberscould not disguise the repeated cleck-cleck-cleck, as the brandy fromthe bottle gurgled down his throat.